The Void Walker
by TitanOfStone
Summary: Kanda was dead. Or, he thought that he was. The feeling of claws sticking through his chest with his lungs in it is an obvious sign. So how come he woke up in his own bed, confused as hell, with the file for the London Graveyard mission beside his bed, and alive to boot? T for swearing, deaths, and a lot of glorified flying entrails.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: So, in celebration to -Man Hallows ( I know it's late but oh to hell with it) and seeing that they did add Crowley, Lenalee and Lavi to the Chess mission (Chap. 169), I'm going to write down this idea of mine that's been running through my head for a long time now. So, yeah, I killed everyone in the cast and sent the most…erm…emotional of them all to correct the mistakes. There will be OCs, but they're not going to be mention much in the story, since this will mostly revolve around a very OCC Kanda Yuu, who had been hardened through a decade of "Secret War"… anyways, enjoy, and please review!_**

 ** _PS... I'm going to jump around a lot and be vague. The story will_** ** _unveiled_** ** _itself over time, so no worries there folks._**

 ** _Chapter One: Awakening_**

"…da, Kanda!"

His door was banged so hard he could hear the screws coming loose and the woods cracking. Grumbling in frustration and confusion, he got up from his bed with a headache and dizziness. Then he realized…

…that he should be dead already.

The memories were clear, but it was vague and foggy at the end. Deciding that he should go through with the flows for now, he shouted out, "What!?"

The voice – Allen, if he was not mistaken – let out a huff before answering back with noticeable effort not to kick the door down and slam his head in. "You idiot, we're going to be late like this! Everyone else is already at the Ark!"

The – oh. _Oh_. Now it clicked. It seemed that he had been sent back into time by _the same idiot who was barking at his door_. And judging from the mission folder – _he remember_ that one, with the chessboard, a fuck ton of blood and gravestones, and one angry little Beansprout – and if he hadn't been too fucked up to recall the events, this is _way_ before the whole Alma mess started.

Which, to him, is pretty good.

Kanda quickly dressed himself and intentionally kicked the wooden, already tattered door, open. Then there was a satisfying _crack_ and an _ow_. When the door closed, Allen holding his redden face and glaring daggers at him was revealed. He gave the younger a smirk before taking off, with Allen yelling behind his back. "You _BaKanda_ , that was _unnecessary!_ Are you trying to kill me?"

"No, I'm just trying to annoy you." He replied with a shrugged.

After a few angry bickers, a one sided middle finger given, and a kick to the shin later, they arrived at the gate, where Reever stood by with the other exorcists, two finders and a seemingly deranged old lady. The scientist briefed them shortly before sending them off through the Ark, with London being their destination.

Here, Kanda was lost in thought. Because he still tried to recall how did he died – or almost. He, the Beansprout and a few others were running from a figure in battered cloak, flaming red eyes and a lot of arms. The fight had been more like a massacre, as none of them never stood a chance against a being out of their understandings. He had been standing guard and buying them time for as long as he could, but of course, he had failed, legs ripped off and half his body burnt into a crisp.

The next thing he knew was being carried by a white-haired man through the desert, a few men in armor behind them, and sea of endless monsters far and covering the horizon. The moon was blood-red, the air chilled to the bone, the sound of growls and otherworldly chants were heard in the background. And then, he remembered talking about something with the idiot, with the later ended up using is status as a Destroyer of Time – or, more accurately renamed a few years after he was given the name, the Time Walker – to send his mind and those of their companions back in time to correct their mistakes.

Speaking of companion. He made sure they were in a straight pathway before closing his eyes and concentrated, and called out in his mind a name – Seth. After a few heartbeats, he heard roars of beasts that does not belong to this world. The same voice then spoke, _'You're here, at last.'_

 _'_ _You talked like I've been gone for long, old friend.'_ Kanda mentally remarked, tremendously amused and equally relieved. Seth was, to put it simply, is partner. Not his Innocence, though, since they're separated entity. Mugen is the _gate_ , while Seth is the _gatekeeper_ , of sort. The beast was one of the so-called "Original Ones", which he really didn't feel like thinking about…just yet. But the fact that he could talk to Seth mean they're back in time _together_.

The beast, whose existence is only but a voice, replied, _'Too damn long, my dear friend. But since you're in a body years younger than you were – or will be, whatever that is – your link with us is still too weak.'_

 _'_ _Down right to business, as usual,'_ Kanda smiled, and quickly erased it when Lavi looked at him questioningly. He simply smacked the rabbit in the head and pushed him forward until he stumbled and fell head first onto the ground, right next to a literal horse shit. _'How long have it been?'_

 _'_ _A few years, to be honest. We managed to stop Apocryphos from even initiating his plan to kill Cross, too, so the General is still with us.'_

 _'_ _For now.'_

 _'_ _Yes, for now.'_

Kanda grumbled, ignoring another look from Lavi. _'We'll talk later then, Seth, I have a mission to complete first.'_

 _'_ _Make sure you use this as an opportunity to regain your sense of self, mate.'_

 _'_ _I sure as hell will.'_

Kanda then was brought back to reality when Lenalee elbowed him in the ribcage and looked at him with concerned eyes. He merely raised an eyebrow at that and gave her a shrug. She kicked his shin. "Lenalee, what the fucking hell was that for?"

"You were paying so little attention to come _this close –"_ as if to exemplify her words, she put up her hand in his face and left a hairbreadth's worth of space between her thumb and index finger "– to fall into a sewer _and_ get hit by a car! Get yourself together, Kanda. What're you thinking anyway?"

He gave her another shrug – and earned himself another kick. "Nothing."

"Liar," She said, but let go of the topic and practically bounced forward to chat with the white-haired teen and Crowley, who seemed to be discussing on some Vampire-Werewolf-Undead mythology.

At that point, Lavi caught up to him and dragged him by the hem of his coat, whispering in his ears. "Hey, Yuu, I was just wonderin'…what're you doing in your head?"

He gave Lavi a frown. "Why do you even care?"

"Because you usually are on guard, even on a walk like this," Lavi said, waving his hands frantically in the air then dumped an arm across his shoulders. If he had been his old self, he'd be kicking Lavi off him and broke an arm. Now he's just _tempted_ to tear the arm off and flung Lavi across the street. "And for the record, I'm a Bookman…apprentice, anyways. Still!"

"I really don't know where I should categorize you between an inattentive idiot and a perfectionist genius, really." He muttered and shoved the red-haired man's arm off him. "And no, nothing's going on inside my head. I was…let's say, _recollecting_ something."

"Oooo, Yuu's becoming a _thinker!_ "

"Shut up."

The rest of the way he spent it in silence, listening only half-heartedly to the conversations about myths, which had escalated from a light topic into Noah and Innocence related. And he swore he heard the Beansprout swore to God about something black skin and _poker playing?_ Lavi had been glancing back at him from time to time, his expression almost _– almost –_ unreadable. It was a questioning and accusing look. But then again, Kanda paid little mind to it.

He had something more important to think about.

Once they arrived at the graveyard, there was a broken board of chess over one of the gravestones, with ghostly hand wearing an emerald ring waving back and forth. A few feet away were the Akumas approaching; all are Level threes, with two of those being the giant faced ones. He grunted, following most of the exorcists along into the fight while Miranda and two finders guarded the gravestone. Link sat across from the hand, and once Miranda restored the chessboard with her Innocence, he moved a piece.

Lavi, with Lenalee's aid, went into the sky and slammed down his hammer with a grin, creating the Fire Seal and stopping the two giants from advancing any closer. Crowley laced onto one of the Akuma's neck and powering himself up while Allen held it down with Crown Belts. Kanda, however, only barely dodged the blows from a level three as he paid half of his attention to the game. Link moved another piece – well that was a bold move, he thought – and before long he was sent flying to Miranda's Time Out.

Well damn.

"What the hell are you doing, BaKan –" The white-haired teen halted his sentence and cut a Level Three's head clean off before continuing "– da!?"

"Mind your own shit, Beansprout!" He snarled back, kicking the Level Three off him and brandishing his blade experimentally. Who could've known he'd lost his ability to multitask when he was sent back in time? That needs to be _re-remembered_ in the future, Kanda mentally noted.

"Then." Allen shouted, slamming an Akuma's head flat. "Stop." Another Akuma was sent flying into Lavi, and the red-haired yelled angrily back. "Dozing." A kick to the face, this time delivering the unfortunate soul to Crowley's grasp. " _OFF!_ "

He rolled his eyes.

And, as if the matter couldn't have gotten worse, his muscle memories – or at least half of it – were lost. He _actually forgot how to do a Battojutsu_ (the art of Quick-draw) and how to use his Innocence's true power! Kanda snarled angrily and cursed God – if he even exists – for not letting him retained his fighting abilities. He avoided a sweep from the Level Three he was fighting narrowly, and throw his katana into its throat.

Of course it _didn't die_.

"Oh, Fuck you, god!" He roared up in the sky and slide down, escaping the death hug from the same asshat and snatched the hilt of his sword. Using the momentum to good use, he pulled it off clean before using the Akuma's ankle as a grabbing point to throw himself onto its back, before plunging the sword through its thick skull. Just to make sure, he pulled the blade off and stuck his katana onto the hole in its neck and spun, cleaving the head off the shoulder.

 _Oh hell, the road to recovery is going to be long._

Link moved Bishop to E3, and Kanda thought that if it was him, he would move the Rook instead. He ducked down; saving his head from a flying arm sent his way by Lavi. "Sorry!"

"Watch where you're hitting!" He yelled, hand-springing back a few feet as a fist hammered down onto a spot he was just standing on. "Oh for _Christ's sake_ you idiot shits are going to be the death of me."

"I'll break that tiny lil' sword of yours!"

"Try me."

Kanda then, to much of his colleague's terrors, threw Mugen into the Akuma's open hands. It tried to break the sword, only to cut itself. It realized too late that such was a fatal mistake when icy old aura seeped from the sword, and its wound was covered by icicles. Kanda raised his hand, fingers spread wide, before clenching them into a fist with a hiss. " _Ichigen: Yuurei no Reifu. (First Illusion: Chilling Wind of the Otherworldly spirits)"_

And the Level Three was frozen over, from head to toe.

"I've never seen that move before, Yuu!" Lavi commented after he had landed softly on the ground with his hammer's help. Kanda wrestled his sword out of the Akuma's frozen fists and gave Lavi a _Don't Ask_ look. Lavi, being Lavi, heed none of the warnings. "C'mon, why did you hide it?"

"I didn't hide it." He said – which was the truth, by the way. "I just never saw a reason to use it – until now. Now shut up and go back to work, rabbit."

" _Aye, aye, Capitano!_ "

Oh, the road to recovery is going to be _boring as hell_.

Fuck you, god.

 ** _A/N: Pew, that's it. Hope you enjoy it :3. The updates will be pretty sporadic, cuz you know, college and all. I'm going to have myself killed like this._**

 ** _Anyways, until next time! :D_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Luckily, there's still one week left for me to goof around before a new semester drop own on my head and kills me twice in a week. :v I actually had an exam on the_** ** _Friday_** **** ** _of my FIRST week. I mean...whyyyyyyyyyy._**

 ** _Anyways, here's the second chapter, where Kanda's bitchy, Lavi is serious and Komui decided to not skip his work :3_**

 ** _Chapter Two: Set off_**

"Phew…that's probably the last o' them."

Lavi said with a ring of finality in it. There were more Akumas that what he had remembered, but they sure served as a good prey-for-sports. Lenalee was tending to the finders' injury, with Miranda taking a rest beside her. The Junior sat on his hammer, hands supporting his weight from behind as he leant back, enjoying the peace. Crowley paced back and forth in a strange sort of self-calming process. Link only silently observed everything. Allen, being a hero-complex son of a gun he is, muttered _rest in peace_ over and over to each body he had slain.

And Kanda? Well, he's just _heaving_ badly.

He's really out of shape.

"Hey, Yuu, why're you so tired? You haven't exercise much, have ya?"

And he's about to maim someone.

"Shut the fuck up, rabbit." He said between pants, hands on his knees, his body bent down in an attempt to ease the extreme exhaustion he's feeling. Well, he really should _not_ be this tired. And he's currently cursing the absent God for making his life miserable. And, when he thought the teasing would stop, _a certain white head idiot poked his nose in_.

"Whhhhaaaaaaaaattttt, BaKandaaaa," Oh, the way he dragged his voice and that sly grin of his was _way too obvious_. If he hadn't been so out of breath, Kanda would freeze both him and Lavi over, threw them in a grave, and leave them to fucking _rot_. "Are you tired? Baby-boo, you're too _soft_ for this manly fights, you know. Even Lenalee's manlier than you!"

"I don't know if that's an insult or a compliment, Allen-kun." Lenalee said from the side, as amused as she is annoyed.

"Oh, it did come out wrong, did it? Sorry, I didn't mean to offend." Allen let out a sheepish laughed, holding up a hand and bow his head slightly in apology before he _rephrase himself_. "You're too _fat_ to fight efficiently, _Kanda_. Not only that, you're so engrossed in your fantasy world that you end up–" He faked the loss for words here, looking at him with a disgusted thinking face, hands making gesture from head to toe "–like _that_."

Kanda faked a laugh. "Oh yeah, fuck you too, asshat."

"Seriously though, Kanda," Now Lenalee continued where Allen had left off. Oh hell, please, please, please, _please_ _not another lecture_. "You're being a bit distracted today." _Fuck no God. I was asking earnestly!_ "What happened?"

" _Nothing_." He grinded out.

"C'mon, Yuu-chan. Even a dimwit like Allen here can tell you're not with us today! Duh!"

" _Call me dimwit one more time and I'll shove this claw up your ass, Lavi._ "

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, _Beany-chan."_

 _"_ _THE NAME,_ " He half-shouted. " _IS ALLEN_."

Lavi burst out laughing afterward, running away from the homicidal Allen who wanted so much to shove his fist – the _left_ one – up the bastard's ass. Crowley and Miranda stayed in the shadows, giggling and enjoying the show. Link shook his head, frazzled by all the fuzz the supposedly "Apostles of God" were behaving. And when Kanda thought he had finally got out of the death grip called _curiosity_ , he was approached by Lenalee.

"Kanda –"

"Stop." He held out a single digit to her face, looking more serious than ever. "Not _another_ word, Lenalee."

"I'm asking out of concern, you know. You don't need to be an ass about it."

"Then stop pushing. There's _nothing_ going on inside my head." He declared with finality, straightened himself up and cracking his neck. The younger still held that look on her. _Come on now._ "What?"

"You're acting weird, you know that?"

"Well, it could've been weirder. It did _not_."

"You're the worst with convincing speech, Kanda."

 _"_ _Shut up."_

When they're done cleaning up and leave the place, they went to the nearby church and stood by for the nearby gates. The wait was tense, with only a few words coming from the women, talking about gibberish – things he never did care about, and see no point in talking about it. But he supposed it served as their stress reliever…? Whatever.

After they entered the Ark, Kanda excused himself (earning him a few questioning glares, since he never really did such things when he want to go somewhere else) and went to the Asian Branch's direction. Battojutsu was originally taught by Master Zhu, even though he was the one who mastered it a few years later. But he was short on time, so he thought maybe going straight to the sword master was the better idea.

Once he had arrived, he was greeted by Bak (who seemed to be planning on making an unnecessary trip to the HQ…yet again) and Fou. The Asian Branch Leader gave him a smile. "Hello there, Kanda. How are you?"

He only grunted back. Replying _I'm fine_ or something along that line would seem too weird for them to really comprehend. "I'm looking for the old man. Have you seen him anywhere?"

"He's in the kitchen." Fou answered his question with a humorless laugh and looking off to the side. "Here, lemme take you there. I have a hunch he might be leaving his hearing aids somewhere again."

"Please do."

They walked in silence, with Bak hanging back and awkwardly whistling, while Fou hopped joyously in front of him, arms swinging wildly. The Asian Branch seemed to be quieter than he remembered. Perhaps this was due to moving the staffs to the HQ? He didn't know, and he decided a second later that he didn't care. He liked the silence.

And then again, God doesn't like him because, apparently, the said God had made it his life mission to make him miserable.

"So, Kanda," Bak started, still whistling about, although the tune seemed more out of place and with an uneasiness feelings to it. "Why are you here?"

"I need to –" He paused, trying to find a way to make this not any more suspicious than it already was. He just knew this was going to fail. Badly. " – train in something specific. And I'm short on time."

"Train what, exactly?"

" _Battojutsu_ ," He answered, turning his head slightly, his dark eyes looking at Bak. It wasn't a glare, or death stares…just a simple look –a look that unsettled Bak the most.

"Quick draw?" The shorter one tried his hardest to ignore the look he was given and instead pressed his question. "Why would you need to learn that, I mean, wasn't Battojutsu used on a single target enemy? And on the first strike? Using this in the field is already proven –"

"Speculated, not _proven_ ," Kanda gnarled out.

"– yes, speculated. But it was theorized that this thing will get you killed, because you'll be wide open before you even get a hit out. Isn't this a bit too dangerous?"

"I have my ways of doing things, Bak." Kanda said, sparing him not a glance this time. "And I have a very good reason for this."

Seeing that changing the younger's mind was not successful, he gave up and sighed loudly, scratching the back of his neck in the process. "Whatever you say, then. I'm going to trust your judgement."

"Hn."

After a long walk, they arrived at the cafeteria, where Zhu was chopping almost too mechanically at the cabbages, then sliding the chopped vegetables to the side of a cabbage mountain. Fou gave him a tired look before bringing with her a megaphone, walking up to the old man with the amplifier right beside his ear. At this point, the old man still did _not_ notice the being behind him. Fou gave Bak and Kanda a warning sigh, one Kanda didn't heed. After Bak had covered his ears (at this point Kanda just knew he was too late), Fou inhaled deeply and screamed.

 _"_ _Old man Zhu! Kanda is here to see you!"_

The voice was thunderous, striking the ears of everyone currently enjoying their meals and the kitchen staffs alike. The mountain of sliced cabbage fell in the ground graciously, and Zhu, after 4 seconds of delay, looked back at Fou with a smile before turning to face them.

"I see. Hello there, Kanda."

"It's been a long time." He regarded, then get right into the point. "I want you to teach me everything you know about Battojutsu, old man."

Zhu seemed more or less surprised, his face turning serious as a grimace formed on his wrinkled features. "What's the sudden interest? And why this one in particular? Isn't it –"

"Trust me, it's battle worthy." Kanda cut the old man off. "And I'm in kind of a hurry, so I need your help to finish what you've started, old man."

"I see." A solemn nod. "What about your work as an exorcist, though?"

"It's being taken care off."

Before he came here, he encountered a few _acquaintances_ , all of whom were a part of Central and a group he joined in in the previous timeline, the so-called Brotherhood, or the "Other" Order. Since quite a few were seated high in the Vatican's chain of command, he could use them to give him an excuse to be "on the leaves" for a few months, giving him time to catch up with the others and prepare for what was to come.

He is in dire need of those months, if he were to succeed where he had failed.

Before that… "Bak, Fou,"

"Yeah?" They replied simultaneously.

Kanda gave them a serious look. "I'm here partly because it's Central's business, so I'd appreciate –" at this word, Zhu dropped his kitchen knife, Fou burst out into a laugher and Bak choked on his own saliva "– you not telling anyone. If they asked, just told them you don't see me here."

"For you to say "I'd appreciate"…" Bak repeated the words awkwardly. "Sure, we will. I believe you have your own reason of doing this?"

"I do."

"So…" Zhu began again, coughing consciously. "Shall we begin?"

"Yes."

….

"I heard Central asked for Yuu-chan to work for them for a few months," Lavi said to Komui, who had been in a state of shock and concern after he'd had a talk with an agent of Central – his name was Isaac, if he was correct – who had come here simply to inform him that Kanda was _asked to help Central in some of their covert ops_ – which is bullshit. "Is that true?"

"I'm afraid it is."

"Why?"

The question was left unanswered, as Komui himself cannot provide a reply. He had been wondering himself as to why they called for the Japanese. Has that guy been stepping in the wrong foot? Even if it is, the possibility of Allen being called there would be greater. Still, he cared little for these details, since his greatest concern lies in Kanda's safety. It's known amongst the exorcists and the supervisor of each branches of Central's unorthodox and unreasonable cruelty to get what they want.

He sudden got up, almost toppled Lavi over with his abrupt change of position – well, there are a lot of things in his mind right now, so screw it – and bolted out of the door. Lavi trailed after him. "Where're you going, Komui?"

"To Kanda-kun's room. If he's still there, maybe he could give us an insight."

And, to his terror, the room's door was opened, and the man named Isaac was standing in front of it. He was in his 40s-50s, his hairs and beards greyed out sporadically. As if on cue, his hazel eyes landed on him, with that everlasting smile on his face. The duo approached him cautiously, and once they were within an earshot, Isaac greeted. "Hello, there. Are you hoping to find mister Kanda here?"

"Where is he?" Komui lashed out, demanding, and desperate for _something_.

"He's already gone, Supervisor." How the hell this man remained so happy and calm is a mystery to him. And that smile made him want to sack the man in the face. "Our work demands immediate attention, as you can see."

"And why are you here, anyway? To plunder his room?"

"Not quite," He replied. Then a few CROW members came out, each with a cardboard box in their arms. "As he will be working for Central for a prolonged period of time, the Pope had seen fit that his room be moved to the Vatican until further notice, Supervisor."

At this, Lavi could see Komui tensed, and his voice was shaken with anger and fear. " _What are you planning to do with him?_ "

"We're your allies, Supervisor. We share the same goal, even if our path differs – please remember that, or you will be faced with a dire consequences."

"Is that a threat?"

"I believe it is, Supervisor. Good day to you. And to you, Bookman Junior."

After the man rounded the corner and headed back to Vatican, Lavi remarked quietly. "Well, that was one damnable son of a bitch there."

"For once, Lavi, I agreed with you." Komui hissed, before collecting himself together. "So… I know this really has nothing to do with you Bookmen, but do you mind help me out? I really fear for Kanda-kun's life."

"He's a friend too, you know, so yeah…I'll help."

"Thank you, Lavi."

So they decided to go into Kanda's room. As suspected, it was picked clean, with only the bed, a desk and a chair that remained. They didn't seem to be tearing the room down as he's feared though – no signs of violence, broken objects or otherwise. And the room had been cleaned neatly, too. The bed sheathe sported no signs of crease, the chair was put in place, and all of the unnecessary papers were left behind.

"We won't get an answer here." Lavi said, trifling with the papers with his hands while his only eye was glued to the bed. "These papers are all official notifications from you and Central. And there aren't indications that Yuu would hide something in his bed – or desk – or anywhere else."

"Should we go to the Asian Branch?"

"Maybe. But if it's Central's command we're talking about, it's likely that Bak would be left out just like you do." Lavi speculated, rubbing his chin as his single emerald eye focused on something nonexistence. The circumstances were abnormal, to put it lightly, and why Kanda alone was called to their services was something he hadn't figured out yet.

"I supposed that's true." Komui echoed, dropping himself onto the chair and put his face onto the desk. "And we won't be able to wring out anything from that sly man Lvellie either. What to do, what to do…"

"Lemme consult with gramps first, then. You should go back to work. There's really not much we can do now." The redhead gave the older man a tired smile and shrugged. His words rang true, and that's what bugged Komui the most. Even if they get an answer, asking them to hand Kanda back has the same chance of success as winning the war tomorrow.

"Thank you, Lavi."

"No problem." The Junior let out a hearty laughter, then slapped Komui's shoulder softly to cheer him up. "I'll excuse myself then. Go get some rest."

"Like I really can."

"Well, duh. Bye!"

All he could do now is waiting for something to happen. And he prayed to god it won't be something bad.

…..

"…tuff is moved out. Your room with be on the third floor, next to Edward's."

 _"_ _I see. Well, that was quick even for your standard, Isaac."_

"I tried my best."

Isaac Fergus is CROW's 7th unit's captain. 47 years old with more than a few decades of experiences to spare, he had made a name for himself amongst the CROW and the enigmatic Brotherhood, who inducted him into the fold when he was in his mid-20s. Currently, he worked as a Special Investigator for the Vatican, and doubled as a unit leader only when needed be.

"So, how was the training, Kanda-chin?"

 _"_ _Drop the suffix, Isaac."_ Kanda said, but there was nothing hostile in his tone. He even let slipped a laugh at how the _chin_ part got into his name. _"It was quite strange, but yields more than what I could have hoped for. The old man really is one of the best swords master in the Order."_

"He must be really good, for that to be coming from _you_." Isaac remarked, his hazel eyes skipping over the reports his men sent in. Tapping the desk as he mulled over the information he'd just read. "Anyways, how long do you think it will take before you can solo in the field?"

 _"_ _Solo?"_ Kanda repeated, and then stayed silence for a few seconds. There was a few hums before he finally speak again. _"It'll take more than a few months for me to get back in to shape. How bad was it?"_

"Better than last time." Isaac replied truthfully. "Although I wished it was a bit better than this. Good news is; _he_ hasn't noticed you yet."

 _"_ _If I go out into the field, he pretty soon will."_

"True enough."

 _"_ _Anything else you need? Because I think I've got to return to training. There's a lot I need to catch up, unlike_ _ **certain someone**_ _."_ The last part was painfully and sarcastically emphasized, and it was clear who that someone meant. Unlike Kanda, who had gained more powers over time, Isaac and the other few were already at their peak conditions when the war went to shit.

"Nothing now. Thank you for your time." He said. Before he cut the line, he decided to mention something. "And oh, I met Komui Lee."

 _"_ _How was he?"_

"Seems a decent guy. He's pretty worried about you, you know."

 _"_ _That's how he is. That's why I hadn't flung him through the window yet."_

"Good for him."

After that, the line went dead, and the grey-haired man looked through the windows in his office. The sky was dark, rain pouring and battering at the glass with high velocity. Thunder roared, and the atmosphere seemed bleak. It reminded him of the same day where the war took turn for the worst and all of them were systematically annihilated.

With a sigh, he whispered, mostly to himself. "I wish we'll win the war this time, or we're doomed for good."

 ** _A/N: And that's that, ladies and gentlemen! Please review :D_**

 ** _Next update... no, I can't promise you anything. I have so many crossroads as to where to take my story, and it's pretty damn scary. Like, Dark Souls scary, where you can't choose whether to spend your currency to level up, save it for cooler gears, or risk it all in a fucking boss fight :P_**

 ** _Until next time!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: Howdie, ladies and gents! A new chap is here :D_**

 ** _This is a cut version of Timothy Arc, where I cut off a good deal of it and went straight to some fights. Hope you like it though!_**

 ** _And Thank you: Lena-luvs-cats, Karina001 and Ryuakilover for reviewing :D_**

 ** _Chapter Three: Phantom Thief G_**

 _Three months later_

December has always been a month of freezing temperatures, snows, kids, and a good deal of celebrations. For the Order, even though there are some kinds of feasts almost all month long, the tension of the war never fades. The Earl moves constantly – even though he might have slacked off slightly by the holy spirit of the holiday – and it forces the Order to constantly make its move.

Since Kanda was assigned to work for Central three months ago, Lenalee will have to work as his substitute in the upcoming investigation. They lost contacted from the field team a few weeks ago inside Paris. After they received a short briefing, the team was dispatched. Once they've reached the station, they saw a young lady bickering with an older man with fluffed-up hair and moderate beard. The man – the father, by Lenalee's Lady Guess – was apologizing to his daughter almost too desperately.

And once she was done, she stomped out without paying attention to the ones in the walkway, bumping into none other than Allen Walker.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't –"

"It's okay, ma'am."

At those little words, the lady fell in love with him. Lenalee only giggled while Marie gave her a curious look. And suddenly, with his fatherly instinct, the father rushed in, pushing the lady to the side and glared down at the younger with threatening aura and teeth grinding. "Who are you?"

"We heard that our men were arrested here, sir." Allen replied with a smile. The policeman suddenly recognized the Rose Cross on their chest, muttering the "Black Order" under his breath, before finally realizing who he was talking to. As he was about to apologize for his previous behavior, Allen stopped him. "No, it's fine, mister. I get it. Father is protective of their child."

"Well then," The older one cleared his throat, offering the white-haired boy a hand. "My name is Galmar, this station's inspector."

"Allen Walker." He introduced himself, taking the hand and shaking it softly. "And that lady there is Lenalee Lee. The tall on is Marie. And the two dots –" at Link's protest, Allen corrected himself "– the blonde one is Howard Link."

"I'm not going to bother remember the name yet." Galmar scoffed, leading them into the station and headed to the cell.

"So," Lenalee began. "Who's this Phantom Thief G?"

"You can see for yourself."

When they reached the holding jail, Marie had to focus hard on the voices to discern whose voice belongs to whom, while Allen could only gaped stupidly at the scene. Link had been showing a very uncomfortable face, and Lenalee was torn between shutting Allen's gaping mouth and her own.

The cells were filled with _thousands_ of men in weird-ass clothing – oval head with and "eye" mask, yellow like a god damn lemons and looked very, very, _very_ none-practical. The suit was nothing less than loose, the fabric too rubbery to really hold onto any surface tightly, the materials were way too weak to be used in battle. After they walked halfway through, the heard cries from the side; it was Jiji and the finders.

"Exor~ci~st-sannnnnn!"

"Eh!? Jiji?" Allen exclaimed, walking up to him. Inspector Galmar was unable to help, since he was dragged into the walls by the captives. "Why are you here? –" At this point he made a doubtful face, rubbing his chin, trying to find the correct wordings "–and _why the hell are you dressed like that?_ "

"I dunno. We lost consciousness and when we woke up, we were like this –"

At this point, those who aren't blinded were staring doubtfully at the aged scientist, who had cried out and reproached at how distrustful they were. Well, looking at the circumstances…and _this_ , they have _all_ the rights in the world to doubt them. So, Allen decided to ask after a short moment of awkward silence – "Do you have any witness, then?"

"We do, we do!" He said, retreated to the side, presenting a man (woman?) with gigantic lips, a tiny bit of beard, two chins, and sitting like queen on one of the finder while the other presented his back as her(his?) leg rest. "Here's our beloved _Lady Bonnie!_ "

 _Lady!?_

Allen mentally slapped himself. _This is going to be one complicated ass mission._

…..

"Gramps,"

The way Lavi had called out to his grandfather, with all the seriousness in the world and face solemn was one of the sign that nothing good will ever come out of the questions asked, and most of those questions were about dire outcomes or probability of one thing falling to pieces. Turning away from the old, dusty book, he asked back. "What is it, Lavi?"

"I've been digging around for a few months now. I still can't figure out why Yuu was the only one who was called –" at this Lavi made a pair of rabbit ears with his fingers and flexed them "–to their _service_. Any idea?"

"All the ideas I had are countered by the fact that him alone was called, and no one else. I still have not unlocked the mysteries out myself."

Lavi sighed, and then dropped into the pile of newspaper he had to read for the day. The stack was unusually high for this time of the month. His green eye started at the ceiling without thinking of anything else. After a short while, as if remembering something important, he bolted up. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you what I managed to dig up today, gramps."

"Mind sharing your discovery, idiot nephew?"

"There's nothing solid yet, but have you ever heard of a "Second Exorcist Project", gramps?"

That sounds familiar, and at the same time, not quite so.

"I'll have a look in to that later, Lavi. For now, let's focus on what we have _here_ – and there, too, under your behind." The old man instructed, slightly annoyed – but it was all to keep Lavi out of the more delicate, more _dangerous_ piece of information. For now, he will divert Lavi away from this.

Once Lavi had fell asleep after a few hours and two thousands and twenty three pages worth of information, Bookman took his leave and went to the Ark Room, where Komui and Cross had just returned from another meeting with Lvellie. The old man went straight for the Chinese, ignoring all the rest, and regarded Cross with only a nod. "General. Supervisor, may I speak with you in private?"

"Can you wait a second? Just a bit –" He lifted a finger then went back to talk with some of the Central's agents. After he was done shouting back at their unreasonable commands – as always – he turned his attention to the elder. "Of course, of course. What about?"

"You know anything about the Second Exorcist Program?"

Cross froze and Komui practically choked on the air.

"Where did you hear that from?"

"Lavi, of course."

"He's too good at this for his own good, Bookman."

"I know. Otherwise I won't be his master."

Then a few minutes of silence, where Bookman only stared, Komui looked awkward, and Cross torn between laughing at Komui or actually feel sorry for him ensued. Of course, him being him, the General decided to laugh it off and walked into the Order. After he left, Komui turned to him. "Well, I can tell you all I know about _that_ … but why you ask?"

"It's Bookman's curiosity, Supervisor. Do you mind sharing?"

"No, of course not. Now, where do I begin…?"

Unknown to both of them, a shadow observed their conversation from afar. Even when they moved into the seclude place, the eyes never left them, the ears always listening to their bouts.

Their secrets were not safe.

….

The Level Four is quite a challenge, indeed.

Lenalee could keep up and dodge its attack with her unmatched agility, while Allen could guard himself for quite a bit with his cape. But even then, its unlimited storage of ammo raining down on them made it hard to advance. Marie had tried to cover them for the side to create an opening, but he slipped up and had to cut off two of his fingers to save his life. And his earphone was half-broken, so they have little time before it becomes two on one.

The green light flashed across its face, blinding it, shattering its onslaught. But once Allen was close enough to deal the last blow, it smiled up at him and rammed the gun into his stomach before firing at point-blank. The Chinese had swooped in and got him out in time, but a part of his torso was already blown off, blood splattering his cape red. They couldn't spare any time to take a break, as the Level Four dropped itself on their head and sent them both flying several feet away.

Allen tried again, this time using crown belt to catch its ankle, trading that move for a few more bullets in his body. He then swung his arm at full strength and threw the thing up into the sky. With that, Marie bound it in place and let Lenalee sky dropped from great heights. It crashed with a loud boom and cracked the blacked earth, changing the landscape and causing smokes to cover the whole area, obscuring all visions. Shortly after, Lenalee shot through the smoke and landed right beside Allen.

"Are you okay, Allen-kun?" She asked, eyeing the bleeding gaping wound at his stomach.

"I'll be fine, Lenalee. Is he dead?" His body hurt all over, and he tensed way more than he should. The blood loss had made him dizzy – even if it's nothing new in this line of work, it still lowered his chance of survival – and the wounds in his legs had made it harder to move about.

"I don't know."

Suddenly, hails of bullets shot out from the smoke and got Lenalee in her left knee. Even if her crystalized Innocence denied the poison effect, the shattered kneecap didn't help one bit. With her right leg, she dragged Allen out of the line of fire and into the orphanage again, using the wall to force the Akuma to get in and find them, so they could landed a surprise hit in.

What she had forgot, however, is that Akuma doesn't think like human.

Instead of hunting them down, it fired its bullets through the walls from left to right, top to bottom, effectively blocking their escape. It took Marie a few more minutes to actually divert the fire and let both of them got out.

"Sorry. That was a bad idea."

"It's okay, Lenalee." Allen assured her, hurling chunks of rocks at it and moved to its left, while the other moved behind it. He then shouted up at the Level Four, drawing its attention to him. "Come here, you bloated belly! Catch me if you can, you swindling pig!"

"You dare?"

After those words, it bolted right to him. With his great sword, Allen managed to block a few hits, albeit with great difficulty. When Lenalee is charged, he dropped the sword, returned it to his left hand, and grabbed the Akuma. He wouldn't let it go even if it killed him. "Gotcha!"

"No!" It screamed, slamming its head into Allen's jaws and loosen his iron grip. Link, who had been watching from the side, gathered the last of his strength and casted the Binding Wing, hampering the Level Four's struggle, and allow the white-haired exorcist to catch it yet again. This time, it trashed about like a mere child. "No No NO NONONO! You'll not catch me!"

"Thanks, Link!" Allen offered, and Link replied with a curt nod before falling to his knees out of exhaustion. Turning the Akuma's head to the side and bound its arms and legs with the white belts, he roared to the green dot far in the dark, artificial sky. "Lenalee! Now!"

Biting down the reluctance she had, Lenalee speared down from the sky, aiming at the exposed head of the Akuma. With a tug from Allen's Crown Belt and a force of her drop, its head was torn clean off the body. The black blood held within spew upward like a fountain, covering Allen, Link and Timothy in the oil-like liquid with unbearable stench.

Allen fell. Luckily enough, Lenalee managed to caught him mid-air.

"Good job, you two." Marie congratulated them, patting Allen in the head gave him his first aid kit. As if the younger's breath was obvious sign, the blinded man held up his other hand to stop him while the other shoved the bandages and disinfectants into Allen's arms. "My wounds are minor. Take care of yours. I might not see it, but the sound I heard before this was kind of hard to miss, you know."

"Thanks, Marie." He replied, slumping to the ground with a hand over his wound. "Ow, this hurts. How are you, Lenalee?"

"Just a kneecap. Still, this is a pain. I can't walk properly." She complained, sitting down beside him and poke at her wound. She winced slightly before getting the bullet out with her hand – the adrenaline had run its course, and now she's regretting doing that. After the bullet was extracted, she laughed. "But you know, Allen-kun, you're very, _very_ daredevil."

"I've heard that." He said.

Timcanpy, who had been hiding for a long time behind Link's coat, revealed itself and bit Allen in the nose.

"Ow! Not you too, Tim!"

"And have a hero complex, too." Marie added.

"You did _not_ just say that, did you?" He started at the bald man before exhaling exasperatedly. "Oh god you did. I'm going to kill Kanda."

"I think he's right, you know." Marie added.

"Please no."

"You do have a hero complex." Lenalee commented from the side.

At this point, Allen wanted to cry. And wailed. "Please not you too, _Lenalee!_ "

After a moment of silence, in which Allen despaired that Kanda germs had infected these two, Marie spoke up, sounding more depressed than what he was. "Speaking about Kanda, though…Have you ever heard from him?"

"No, not at all." The white haired exorcist finally got up after he had stopped his bleeding. At this point, Link and Timothy and – _who the bloody hell was that? –_ had made their way to them. As the CROW was tending to his wound, Allen continued. "I only heard from Komui-san that he was _called_ in by Central to help out with their work. You knew anything about this, Link?"

The blonde man gave him a curious look. "Whatever you're talking about, Walker?"

"Kanda. I mean, Central appointed him, right? Did you know anything?"

"Even if I do, Central business is not mine. I have no right to speak about it." He said as he wrapped the bandages around Allen's head. After he saw how the other two looks, he huffed and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know. Even Inspector Lvellie has no say in this. I only heard the order came from the higher-ups. The Swiss Guard Captain, I think."

At this, Marie's ears seemed to perk. "Swiss Guard? I thought they had no say in Vatican's politics."

"They do." Link affirmed, clearing the debris out of the boy's torso wound. The newest addition to the group, Timothy, only sat about quietly as whatever they were discussing was not his thing…just yet. "The Captain actually had the same power as a Cardinal. And they are second in command to the Pope when it came to the CROWs."

"Military and politics, huh…" The blinded man repeated. "Those have never been a good combination to begin with."

"It never does," At this, Link seemed to say it softer than he was a second ago, due to the fact that whoever in the crimson coat that stood beside them were giving his undivided attention to the conversation now. "But, it's not for us to really judge. If they can win us the war, what does it matter?"

"It does." Those words had angered Lenalee greatly. Did Link really thought that their policies are the best for humanity? Exorcists are _humans_ , too, and whatever they've done during their existences seemed to disregard their sole purpose entirely. "If they destroyed every exorcists along the way, then what is the point of us fighting?"

"To save the world?" Link returned the question.

"You…!"

"Stop, stop, you two." Marie had to step in now. Even injured, killing Link is not a challenge for someone like Lenalee. And the way she looked at him, well, she's close to dealing those blows now. "We're on the same side. Our perspectives might differ, but don't let that divide us."

The girl didn't seem pleased, but she thought better of it and relaxed her tensed muscles – she had involuntarily made herself ready to actually give Link a lesson, just then. Link's eyes lingered on her longer before returning to the wound before him.

After a beat of silence, he spoke. "I'm sorry if I've upset you."

Casting her gaze to the side, Lenalee only nodded.

During this bout, Allen really was feeling awkward. He'd like to slap in his own opinion too, but well…he's injured, and tired as hell. So after the conversation had ended, he just sat there and let his wounds be dressed properly.

Well, he did know all along he's not going to get on the Vatican's good side.

He cursed himself mentally.

Why do the authorities always have this kind of mindset?

 ** _A/N: I actually forgot about Tim for a while there. Sorry, little golem :p_**

 ** _Well, chao! Until next chapter :D_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter Four: Treacherous Storm_**

 ** _There are a lot of skips here, so bear with me. Sides' the new semester started tomorrow. And I am going to be dead after that. For real._**

 ** _I mean it. I'm dead._**

"What's with the scary face, Supervisor?"

Renee Epstein, with two crimson-cloaked CROW member at her side, said with a smug on her face. A smug Bak was tempted to wipe out. Komui had been too frightened by the newest Order's experiments to come up with a single retort. How could they be so inhumane in their quest for humanity's survival? If they did this, then when the war's over, there'll be nothing left but a shell of what they wanted to protect – _humanity_.

"You're taking a very long, very _dangerous_ leap of faith here, Renee." Bak said with his brows furrowed and his fist clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. "Have you not remembered what _we_ had done nine years ago? Was _that_ not enough? How many have to suffer for _this_ , Renee?"

"As much as needed be for us to win," She replied, her legs still crossed and her chin rose up, dignified. As stubborn as her father, and a far-off progress from what she were nine years ago. What had changed her mind?

"What changed, Renee? Power? Positions? _Name in the hall of honor?_ "

"The war is what had changed me, Bak. That, and naught else."

Komui remained silence. If he uttered a word, it would be war between them and Central, something he'd like to happen the least. The egg shard Renee use was probably from when the Order was invaded. Lvellie is sly, but he did not think that the man would be capable of _this_. This Third Exorcist project – _hold on a minute_. "Hold on a minute, Branch Chief Renee."

"What is it, Supervisor?"

He swallowed thickly down. "Normal human bodies break when connected with Akuma cells… so, _what_ is the First Womb?"

"No wonder why you're at the HQ, Supervisor, very well done." Renee clapped for him, with a grin containing a dark tint underneath. She seemed to want to coy with him more. The mischievousness in her eyes and the _All-High-And-Mighty_ look of hers is a dead giveaway. "Take a few guesses, Supervisor. I believe you already know the answer to that question."

He did think of something else at first. But when he thought that _this_ was called the _Third_ , it means there's a _Second_ project beforehand, and –

Terror-struck, he said it out, face paled and eyes wide. "Alma Karma?"

At this, Bak snapped and threw his arms wildly about. "Renee, _you_ , how _dare_ you do this?! That boy should not –"

"He's been asleep for nine years." The woman defended herself. As she did, the CROWs behind her took a few stances. She stopped them with her hand, seemingly amused and confident enough to actually disregard Bak's opinion. "It is a matter of _different opinions_ , and I can assure you that Alma no longer knows a thing that had happened."

"Still –"

"You two. Please stop."

Komui ordered them both, dead serious and more furious than Bak has ever seen him be. But it took almost all that he had to contain himself. He wanted _so badly_ to slap her and throw her into the pit for desecrating _humanity_ itself with her actions. But this is the will of the Pope, and disobedience could only make things in the Order worse.

"But –" The Asian Branch Chief made a move to interject, but Komui halted him with a glance – full of pain and misery.

He then turned his gaze to Renee, nodding slightly, and made a gesture to her then to the door. "If this concludes the purpose of your visit, please leave. I have a few things more to discuss."

With a faked smile, she murmured. "If you wish, Supervisor."

After Renee left, Bak burst out into a fit of anger, cursing in every language he knew at Lvellie and Renee for desecrating the dead. "They have no rights! _No fucking rights!_ They have no respect for the dead! NOT AT ALL! How – _why the fuck are these abominable of a human being exists?!_ I –"

"Bak, be quiet."

"I won't! They –"

 _"_ _Shut. Up."_

The gaze Komui was giving him was enough to give chills down his spine. There was primal angers beneath those seemingly calm features, and the way his shoulders tensed, the way his lips formed a thin line, the way half of his eyes were shadowed by the light, and the way he gnarled out those two words – Bak had never, in his life, seen Komui Lee become this enraged. He gulped down quietly and backed away a bit. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." The taller man assured his friend, not once moving the hands that had clasped together, nor made even an effort to ease or relax his muscles. After a few controlled breaths, he made an eye contact with the man. "I am as upset as you are, but there really is nothing we can do, not with the Central backing her up like this. And to think they used the remnants of the Second Exorcist Project as a base… Ingenious."

"How could you say that!?" Bak nearly shouted in protest.

"It doesn't mean that I agree with their methods." He said. "But they are a true genius, to think of a way to fight Akuma with Akuma like this."

"…true enough." Reluctantly, he agreed, although it bugged him to no end. Has she no heart at all, to be using Alma – someone she used to look after, too, as mere "test subjects"? "So, how are we doing this?"

"…Bak…"

"Yeah?"

"Kanda-kun was at Asia Branch, right?"

The shorter man jumped. He had made a promise with that man, although after a few weeks he had left for Central with a few CROWs flanking him… maybe he could share this bits with Komui? But risking his neck with Kanda's wrath is really _not_ an option. "Erm…why do you think so?"

A glance from the side and a grin. "Well, he does comes from your branch after all. So I think maybe he'd make a trip there before going to Central. It's fine if you hadn't met him though."

Thank god.

"Although," Komui continued. "If I found out you did and you withheld that bit of Intel from me, I might consider telling Lenalee about your crush on her?"

Oh no don't God. _I was just thanking you!_

"Come on, Komui! Don't you trust me? I said I've _never_ seen him!" But really, between Komui's and Kanda's wrath, he preferred to avoid the later. Since all Komui could do is mentally harm him and crushed his honor for good, but he _just_ knew Kanda could drive him insane with physical torture.

After a glaring contest, Komui gave up first, sighing. "I believe you then. I'm just feeling as if something bad's going to happen to him."

After a short while of silence, and the way the taller's face looked so concern for the missing exorcist, Bak prayed to god he wouldn't end up dead after this. He exhaled in defeat before slumping on the seat Renee once occupied. "In reality, he came to Asian Branch about three months ago, asking Master Zhu to teach him Quick-Draw."

A heartbeat, and, "And?"

"After a few weeks, a few CROWs and one man in suit came to us and took him to Vatican. After that, he'd never contacted back. He did assure me it was Central's order to work there, though…but…"

"…You don't trust them."

"Just like you don't, Komui."

Komui practically slammed his forehead onto the table with a long, agonizing growl. "Oh my god. That's worse that what I've thought it would."

"And we can do nothing." Not only did he _not_ helping, Bak also stated a fact that is painfully obvious to them both.

"Nothing." Komui echoed, exhaling once again and pushed all the coffee-stained papers off his desk. He recovered as quickly as he could. "Well, I'll find a way, regardless. Thank you for that information, Bak."

"If you want any help, ask me out any time, Komui."

"Thank you."

….

The snowstorm in Northern Russia is pretty hazardous for a human. The low temperature hampered the sensory systems, the nose burns from the dryness caused by the storm, and the field of view was reduced to a small pocket of air around those who had ventured close.

Luckily, Allen _did_ have a cursed eye. At least he can detected if a battalion of Akuma was coming in – one of the rare few moments he was glad it was here.

Their original plan was to go to a historical building in Istanbul to investigate the various disappearances of the townspeople. But Central decided that it was not worth their effort, and so they were sent into the land of utmost treacherous weather to find a rumor about the piece of Innocence, or rather, a rumor of strange incidents, in this region. Lavi's Hammer did nothing to help. When the red-haired cleared a storm cloud, another quickly replaced it, and so his Innocence's Wood Seal became meaningless. Lenalee was no better; her kneecap hadn't actually got back to full strength, and being a lady and movements-related fighters rather than a tank like him, poor footing and relentless snowstorm made it hard for her to fly into the sky without getting knocked down.

Timcanpy, even though he can fly in the storm, can't manage to bolt ten feet in the air before swirling right back to the earth. Allen had had the golem tried more than a few dozen times, and the furthest he went was only a few feet out of there line of sight. And that last try ended up with Tim being blown back a _hundred bloody feet_ away from where they were, and they had to trek back to find that thing.

The Third and Link's seals did no good either, since all they could do is to create a small pocket (very small, like, can only stuff about four teenagers in) of storm-less air, and that drained too much of their stamina. The big chunk of arm that belonged to the two Thirds could only be used to shield their eyes from the occasional hailstones, splinters and rock shards. And that too took up their powers – which they should be saving to fight the Akumas. So, all they could do is stumble along until they find _something_.

Speaking about the Third…

The Third Exorcists that came with them – Tokusa and Goshi – were so creepy that Allen's left eye twitched at all times with his skin crawled every moment one of them activated their arms. It's a good thing they had learned to keep their distances from Innocence users, or else he's not going to be able to shove down anything into his constantly hungry-ass stomach.

Even though he hated to admit it, Allen felt disgustingly uncomfortable around _these guys_. To be honest, it's like having Akuma with you all the time.

And not the happy, helpful Akuma, at that…

"Master Exorcist," Tokusa called from behind, his right arm raised to block the snowstorm from further reducing his vision range. Allen looked back with a bit of grimace, and regretted actually turning his head. He had been forced back another half-step with that stride alone. "We've been walking like this for an hour now, with nothing in sight. Maybe we should rest up for a few, waiting for the snowstorm to pass?"

"That ain't happening, Third," Lavi bellowed, trying to get his voice through the noisy wind. "See, there were reports of Akuma patrols in this region. If we do rest up, that Innocence – if it's there – might actually be lost."

"I see." The CROW reluctantly agreed, quietly following the footmarks in the snow. Then he spotted something far off – bright, orange light. "There!"

"Where, where!?"

"To the north! That might actually be a village! Or a house!" Allen said happily. If he could he would've jumped in joy. Nah, bad idea. Jumping now would mean he had to dig himself out of the snow. Again.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"

It took them about two hours and a few minutes to reach the source of the light. It was a village, a pretty large one, with only a few men in snow coats, each holding wooden canes with lanterns attached at the head. One of them, an old man with long grey beard, spotted them. He quickly roared at other men in the vicinity in Russian before walking up to them, taking the lantern from the cane into his free hand.

With thick Russian accent, he spoke. Allen must admit, though, that the old man's English is as good as any foreigners he had ever met. He idly wondered if he had met any English speakers before, because the location of this place attracts naught but wolves and endless storm. "Hello there, strangers. Might I ask why you come to this place?"

"We're from the Black Order!" Allen shouted, fighting against the volume of the bellowing wind. "We're here to investigate strange incidents around here!"

"Come inside first! We'll talk details in there!" The old man declared, shouting to the nearest building – a town hall, Allen presumed – in his mother tongue. After a short while, an old woman with two young male adults opened the door. They rushed inside as the wind began to pick up the speed and screeched like wailing ghosts. Once the door – thick and firm – slammed shut, the old man spoke to Allen. "How was a travel, young mister?"

"The weather here is unbelievable." He laughed dryly. "I am no surprised why Russian people are associated with strength."

"Thank you for the compliment, young mister." He bowed slightly, shrugging off his coat and limped – even Lavi had only noticed it then – towards the flame in the middle of the hall. It was a large, open space with a few families scattered here and there, sheltering them from the storm. Although, judging from the fact that some of the houses still had people inside, these people might just only be here because the storm struck while they were outside.

"So," Lavi started after the old man had settled to one of the bonfire, with a rusty kettle hung atop the flame. "What happened in these parts?"

"The storm you see is but one of the unnatural events that has transpired as of late." He answered, stirring the content of the kettle – Russian Tea, Lenalee did remembered the scent – with a cracked wooden spoon before measuring the temperature with his tongue. "Harsh sunlight, sometimes. Others, there are bellows of something inhuman in the distances. Sometimes it's a thousand apparitions walking through our town. Last week, it's something like _dragon_ flying above our head. It did spew fire. See the burn there?–" He pointed at the spot where old, charred bricks and new flawless one contrasted the most "– it causes some damage to the town hall, killed a few dogs. And the latest one is this abnormal snowstorm. It usually is _not_ this cold and this strong, you see."

"That's one hell of a list." Lavi noted. "Did you see anything else strange? Some _things_ that weren't there before?"

"There is one, actually." This time, the young Russian – the old man's son, Lavi presumed – spoke up. "Last night I and my brother spot flashes of green lights coming from the old castle uphill."

"Castle?"

"It was once a fortress of a Royalty, built in the most secludes of locations to conduct tortures and doubtful practices, like human sacrifices." The old man filled in, pouring the hot tea into each tea cup slowly and carefully. "The family name is lost in time, but their legacies remain among us. Would you like me to tell you? It's one long story, though."

"Sure." Allen said, making brief eye contact with Lenalee and Lavi. They both agreed, although the other three didn't seem too fond of a bedtime story. "It might help us figure out what's going on."

….

"Nea D. Campbell?"

The Noah swiftly turned to the side. He _is_ within Allen's mind, and the place – he liked to refer to it as the Great Void – is _his_ (and sometimes _Allen's_ ) alone. It is impossible for another being – humans or no – to enter this domain. Nea suddenly froze, as his golden eyes fixated itself upon a figure, dressed in long tattered garb, with a cowl covering most of his face. But he could still make out the two purple dots that were the eyes. Cautiously, he bowed. "Welcome to my domain. Who are you?"

"Who _we_ are is unimportant…as of now." The being replied, gliding past the Fourteenth and touched the stone throne gently with his gauntlet covered hand. "I was ordered to ask you of something, Mister Campbell."

That did pique his interest. Although the _we_ part is a tad odd, he was willing to let it slide for the better, more _thrilling_ , mystery before him. "What is it?"

"Are you an Ally of the Father, or are you against him?"

"Why should I even tell you my motives? I don't know you." He laughed, his arms opened to welcome whatever retorts the being might've come up with. But… "Why did you refer to "God" as the "Father" anyways? That's odd."

"Simply because he is powerful and exists before all of us, does not mean he is an immortal. And it certainly does not mean he is all powerful as most men claim him to be." The eyes then looked right into his, seemingly pierced his very souls. For a long time, there were silences…and then, "You know that, did you not? _Millennium Earl?_ "

Nea, although shocked, managed to recover quickly and gave him a fierce smile – a smile he not at all comfortable to use. "You know."

"Of course we do. We've been watching. Always."

"Who are you?" He asked, hands twitched as he readied himself for a brawl. Even if this is just in Allen's head, he still _ruled_ his place. No matter how this _thing_ got into here, he was certain he can repel it from this Great Void.

"We are the Brotherhood. _Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici_ , the same one you tried to contact 35 years ago."

"The _Other_ Order?" Nea quickly dropped his guard. The Order he had been seeking his entire life, right before his eyes! But still, he needed to make sure this _thing_ is a part of it. "Show me the crest."

A tug to the garb, revealing the crest he had been looking for. Nea only gave a curt nod, satisfied, and backed away slighty.

"I've been looking for you people."

"We have only recently come to aware of that." The being said apologetically, offering Nea some kind of hidden… _smile?_ "Although we agreed not to how you wish to wipe away Allen Walker's memories."

"There is no other way for me to become myself again." Nea said, saddened, and placed himself upon the stone throne full of chains of thorns. "Allen lost his memories because, for what I could have guessed, the _Innocence –_ "

"Saved his life." The cloaked figure finished. "It was not Crown Clown's wish to wipe you out from Allen, it was the opposite. Returning him to a child and wiping away his memories with you is but consequences of defending you two from a very angry soul – the other half of you."

"Mana?" Nea breathed. "The Innocence _saved_ me? Us?"

"Yes."

"How can I believe that?"

"If he wishes to kill your memory," The figure began, looking up at the black sky with roaring thunders. The thunders were green, and Nea had a slight idea of where those came from. _Holy shit_. "He would have taken you down along with Allen, for a sacrifice of a single man outweighs the word, but he did not. You owe him your live, Mister Campbell."

"Well, that's true…" The Noah now looked all the more uncomfortable. He didn't want to believe that rubbish, but… whatever he was, the invader was _way_ too persuasive.. Remembering that he had not answered the question asked earlier, he settled down to have them all answered with honesty. "I have an idea that perhaps Noahs and humans can coexist. Because, after all, we're the Father's _offspring_ – sort of. This idea, however, was rejected by Mana several times. What triggered my betrayal was mother's death."

"And so you tried to kill him?"

"Yes. I killed all Noahs but him and Road. And I died. Allen and Cross forged a plan to save me. There's that, a short version of the whole story." The Noah shrugged. He never did plan on spewing the whole thing on the first time he met a stranger though. Maybe later. "Still, I have to take over Allen's body if I were to be revived into the world again. I don't like it."

"What if we could find you your body?"

A laugh. "That's impossible! It's scattered, destroyed! Even if it's recovered, transferring the memory _requires_ the host to be conscious of _my_ existence!"

"We are led to believe it still exists." The invader said, walking closer to the Noah, whose attention has been grasped tightly by those few words. "Even if it does not, we can find you a new vessel. And for the time being, work _with_ Allen, tell him about yourself, but not about him… if he accepts you, then you will have the opportunity to return to life _alongside_ him. And…"

"Hey, hey, that's a long bloody list…"

"Work with us. The Order is in need of your service."

He could work with Allen – the _new_ , oblivious Allen – for he was once an old, dear friend of his. He also thought the idea this thing had presented would work too – if he could convince the Black Order and Allen that he was on their side, that is. And he _might_ be able to work with – wait. "How the hell can a Noah work with an Innocence?"

"We can arrange that. The _True_ Noah has never been an enemy to Innocences. We just need a few preparations to make the primal hatred between you and the shards faded. But, it can be done."

"Are you serious?"

"We very much are."

A pause. The tempting offers still stand, and he would be a fool to not take it. He wishes to kill Mana, for he is too determined to kill the "God", and actually live peacefully. Although what services might be of need, he does not know, nor did he really care.

"Very well. I accept your offer."

The figure bowed. "Then we shall meet again in due time, Nea D Campbell."

 ** _Whatever Nea's motives might be, this is how I had interpreted it. He always was a good man, just that he was left between saving a friend or the world. And after that a lot happens and he changed. Whatever. This is how I had it in mind :D_**

 ** _The cloak one belonged to the Brotherhood, whose name you might be able to guess from that phrase. If not, watch out for more clues!_**

 ** _Until next time!_**

 ** _PS. The update will be slower after this one. You know. College and the possibility of me getting chopped into pieces by the professors._**

 ** _Cheer!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_I'm still fucking ALIVE! OMG_**

 ** _I have test tomorrow...look what the fuck I'm doing. =_= Instead of reading, here I am, updating my story...and there's still a fucking dozen pages to go. And it's 1-1 test too. omg omg omg omg D:_**

 ** _Anyways, sorry for all the past typos, and I apologize in advance for any new ones._**

 ** _Enjoy! :D_**

 ** _Chapter Five: The Fortress of the Duke_**

They had never seen anything like this before.

The fortress stood tall and proud amidst the mountains and snows. The steel gate remained bloodied and slightly ajar, the cracks and crevices on the floor more noticeable when a head, an arm or a few body parts stuck out of it. Their faces reflected horror, and fear, as they met their demise by the hand of the Grand Duke who wished nothing more than his wife's revival.

And it ended up with all of the _subjects_ dead, and his wife wearing the Duke's skin and becoming just another Akuma.

Once they reached the great hall, Lavi casted his Fire Seal and lit the room with his fearsome fire serpent, showing the horrific aftermath of a man who wished to become a god. The rocks were charred; some with mosses grew out while the other merely crumbled before the force of time. Other were painted in long since dried blood. Bodies were stuck to the wall by spears, swords, arrows, while others simply dangling from the high ceiling, held there by chains or simply rested on the chandeliers. The creaks of old contraptions, woods, metal clashing with stones still remained.

From afar, they heard growls, angry and in pain. The howling wind could not suppress the roars of a beast up above. This beast, judging from the old man's story, is the Duke's wife, who since long ago lost her sanity to the Earl and protected this place – a place the Earl had once used to research humans in the same way the Duke did. But it had been forsaken for nearly a century, with only the spirit of that woman guarding it.

Their job is to take it down, and see if the green light the old man's son saw was an Innocence, or entirely something else.

Allen's left eye, however, did not activate even when they entered the fortress – nor did it activate when something flew pass them. So he had a wild guess that the Earl might have created a barrier to prevent his musician and his left eye's ability, much like how it was back in Paris. Since they had no way to detect the Akumas but eyesight – which is very poor – and sounds, they don't split up and instead decided to venture deep into the fortress together.

The air in here was completely different from the outside. While outside was freezing cold, inside the fortress was no less than an oven. A large, creepy, bloodied oven. As they worked their way through, they sighted nothing but a few heads that rolled their way, a few quakes here and there (possibly from whatever that's above their heads), and warning messages written in either blood or carved into the stone.

When they arrived at a large staircase, leading both up and down, they had decided to survey the dungeon later. Dealing with the lone Akuma up above might be a better way to go. Once decided, they headed upstairs. The CROWs had their hands on their spell tags at all time, while the exorcists invoked their Innocences beforehand. What's strange is that, even though they had been prepared and very obvious, nothing came their way.

Too quiet.

Allen felt like he's going to die this time.

Shaking the feelings off, they arrived at the courtyard above the lower levels they entered. Only a large statue, covered in snow, was visible. There were no signs of Akumas, or Noahs. In fact, there was _nothing_. The Courtyard was mostly covered in snow, with a few dried bushes and more than a dozen weapons sticking out. It was surrounded by short, stone walls. At the other end was a large stairway, with dead soldiers' ironclad body lying around, their swords and guns still in their death grips.

"Be careful." Lavi said, his hammer resting ready on his shoulder. He might have appeared slacking off, but his stance was actually the right way to prime a great swing. "I feel like we've been watched."

Everybody else nodded in agreement. Timcanpy flew a bit upward in order to spot threats as soon as he could. Cautiously, they took a few steps at a time through the withering patches of glasses (that seriously has no way to survive in the Extreme North of Russia), pasted a few bodies at a time, their eyes lingered on the corpses a little longer than necessary.

Once they made it halfway, shit happened.

"Holy fucking _shiiiiiiitttt!_ " Lavi wailed.

The corpses, dead and unmoved a moment ago, started dragging their bodies up, each hands fiddling for nearby weapons. Some bodies had no heads, some lost an arm or a leg, a few donned no armors at all, revealing sunken faces and hollowed eyeballs. They each howled like humans in pain. And before the exorcists knew it, they were surrounded, trapped in between hundreds of the Living Deads.

"Oh my _god_ are you kidding me!?" Allen said to the sky before dragging Link out of a spear thrown at them. With his claws, he severed one of the enemy's head, only for the body to start moving again and attacked with a great sword. Luckily enough, he managed to roll out of the way in time.

"And they're practically un-killable, too, seems like." Lavi stated the obvious, holding his hammer in two hands. "Let's try if frying them works."

With a slam, the fire seal appeared under their feet, covering the whole snow courtyard. With a grin, Lavi called out for his faithful flame serpents, spearing upward and high into heavens before plunging down, obscuring everything they could see. The heat distorted their visions, and when the fire died down, all that remained standing was armored bodies, charred and the innards burnt to a crisp.

But of course, victory has never come that easily.

"Come on now!" Lavi cursed and did a home run on a charred body running into him. "They should already turned to ashes!"

"They did!" Allen bellowed, punching one of them, only for the corpse to turn into dust. And before his very eyes, it reformed again.

"This is borderline _impossible_."

"No shit, Lavi."

"Well…no choice, then." Lavi said, sighing. "Let's go!"

In the midst of their struggle, a shadow loomed, its bright red eyes only watched from afar as the undead army, dead and resurrected again and again, marched upon the exorcists.

….

"You're here, again."

The woman, with her curly blonde hair and bright green eyes, said as she spotted a man sitting by the edge of the tower. His eyes lingered on the sky for a few more moments before they turned their gaze to her. He tapped at his side, and she sat down beside him. After a few moments, he finally spoke. "It took you a while to find me this time."

"In case you did not realize, _Commander_ ," She emphasized at his rank, taking out a golden lighter and handed it to him. He took it and lit the cigarette that had been in between his teeth the whole time. "Your _sightseeing places_ are very hard to reach. Plus, there's like what, _seventy one_ of them? I can't pull off your _jumps_ like you can."

"Sorry, sorry," He laughed heartily, settling back a bit and blew out a puff of smoke. "So, if you're here in person and not ordering me through the golem, I'm going to assume it's something only I should know?"

"Well, not really." She said. "Since we diverted the exorcists from this place and to Extreme North Russia instead, I thought you might want to know how they fare against the Great Hammer Tusk?"

"Ah, the giant." He said in the way that a man would to a formidable foe. He adjusted his red tie and the golden-rimmed Cross Pattee, brushing the dust away from his shirt and black vest, then took in a long inhale of the smoke. "I don't think they're going to be fine. But that'll serve nicely as a "Wake Up Call" to the Black Order."

"Isn't it a bit harsh, though, doing that?"

"It is. But," He shrugged, "Why the hell not?"

"You're such a Jerk, Kanda Yuu."

Kanda only gave her a puff of smoke, making her coughed furiously as her hands tried to swat away the smoke. "And that's not a way to speak to your Teacher now, is it, Clara?"

"You're only one year older than me, so shut up."

"Hell no."

And they laughed. Even though they were speaking about possible injuries and deaths the exorcists at the other side of the world might face, they laughed at nonsenses they talked about.

But only for a while though.

Kanda, after a few good seconds of letting off the steams, returned to his dark smile and slightly tensed shoulders. He faced the skyline, watching the sun set slowly. The desert below the crumbling tower slowly moved, and the roars of beasts and sounds of insect crawling below crept to the surface. "I've made sure that Tusk will not kill them. If he did, well…you people are still here, anyways. I have eyes, ears and swords everywhere, remember?"

Clara only shook her head and put her hands together. Once she took her hands apart, a small white flame appeared in between. The flame was bright and warm, but it soon grew in intensity. She threw it onto the sand, and ten giant scorpions came out of the ground, rushing to the light, their pincers and tails trying to strike it to death. Then the light exploded, leaving a giant sand pit and charred parts of the giant scorpions.

"Why are you here then? I don't believe you're in this forsaken tower to watch the scorpions trying to get you into their stomach."

"As observant, as always." He said sarcastically, standing up and resting his left arm on the hilt of his sword, sheathing inside black sheathed and golden embroidery, while his right holding the still burning cigarette. "I've been sent to Iraq to ascertain a certain man's allegiance to us. I'm here because for his service to continue –" he paused, flicking the cigarette onto the sand and drew in another pack of scorpions " – requires my assistance with…. _this_."

"Pest problems?"

"Yes," He confirmed, then pointed his finger to the far end where the eye could see. "And that, too."

After following his finger and made out the largest, blood red scorpion in the midst of the desert, she started to freak out. "Holy shit are you kidding me? Is that – _is that a fucking Dark Matter Creature?"_

"It is." He shrugged, curling the fingers in his right hand. All of the sudden, his arm and fingers had sporadic blue fire on them, much like how the fire would appear when burning on a cinder. With a grin, he said, "It's a good time to see if you can fight that thing, Clara."

"No way in hell. I hate insects."

"1000 bucks?"

Reluctantly, "For money, I would do that."

"Splendid!" He laughed, kicking her off the ledge. "Then get going!"

" _No need to kick me down, you dipshit!"_

Kanda only laughed as Clara raged down below, waving about and creating fire of thousand colors everywhere. He could still here her angrily barks at them – and indirectly, to him – as she scorched them to dust. He then turned to the side, where a man in golden armor with lion helmet approached. Kanda greeted him with a nod. "Full armor today, Grand Master?"

"I was fighting the Earl a few hours ago. So yes, full armor."

"I supposed you aren't here for chitchat, eh?"

The man shook his head and took of his helmet, revealing crimson red hair and blue eyes. His beard was an inch long, give or take a few, and his features sport scars here and there, with the most prominent one being a long cut from above his left eyes down to his neck. The Grand Master frowned slightly. "I was about to ask one thing. About the "Original Timeline"?"

"Go ahead, ask away."

"Did Bookman Junior die?"

Kanda choked at that, coughing so hard that his face turned red. After he recovered, the Japanese straighten up and gave the "Lion" a glare. The man, however, did not flinch, so Kanda mentally cursed _fuck you_ and returned to how he was before Clara showed up – sitting on the ledge, swinging his legs, smoking contently. "Why do you want to know?"

"You're avoiding my question, Kanda."

"He did. So?"

"How?"

Kanda remained silence still. His brows furrowed slightly. He sighed once, before glancing at his "Boss" at the corner of his eyes. "What do you think?"

"I think he used himself as a decoy for someone to escape. Or that's how I have heard the men said, anyway."

Kanda only shrugged, once again. "Good guess."

"But…why would he use his live to save us, who have nothing to do with him?"

"He became a _Historian_." Kanda replied, taking the cigarette he just lit out of his lips and threw it into the group of scorpions surrounding Clara. She barely duck in time when the ember at the cigarette's butt exploded, charring everything (including Clara's skirt) in the radius.

"Does that have anything to do with _anything_?"

"Because he became a Historian, he was forever bound to our _Order_ , which means, if required, he will have to give his life for the Inner Circle." The way he said it, full of sorrow and guilt, was more than enough to clench at the older one's heart. He, too, felt Kanda's grief within those words.

"…wait, he _saved_ one of us?" The Grand Master said, unable to help himself.

"There are reasons why I want to change the rules first, Grand Master." He averted the question and replied with a smile. "If you allow it, of course."

"Go ahead, please do. I'd hate for such magnificent souls to be wasted."

"That's what I wanted to hear, sir."

"Now go get some rest, you young people are way too eager to get into brawls like _that_." He quickly changed the subject, and pointed at the woman below them to prove his point. Right now, she was having way too much fun on her hands. "I'm going to get some exercise down there instead of the desk work. Your next assignment will be in the next few hours, after we're done."

"You're way too laid-back for a King, sir."

"And you're too dark and gloomy for a prideful swords master, Kanda."

"Fuck you, sir."

"Fuck you, too."

And with that, Kanda took a leap of faith down into the sand.

He disappeared halfway.

…

After a few hours of slamming the undead a few hundred times each, they had all but stop regenerating.

And with that, the exorcists and CROWs alike tumbled to the ground.

The snow that had covered the fields was all but swept away into the waves of winds and heat their battle made. During their bouts, the storms had suddenly stopped, with only a few breezes came and gone. The snow had also stopped, and the cloud above began to clear. The sunlight had penetrated through the remnants of the storm clouds that were about to part, showing the aftermath of the battle. Legs here, heads there, torsos up on the wall, and the rest had become all but ashes.

Allen sported himself a few cuts all over his body where his cape had failed to protect him, with one deep wound above his left eye, blinding him by his own blood. Lavi seemed to have dislocated his left shoulder twice – which he had popped back into the socket himself, Allen mentally noted – and sprained his left ankle while he was at it. Lenalee was hit by an iron hammer once, and bashed in the back by tower shields trice. It didn't seem as if she had any internal bleeding, but still have a few broken bones out of it.

The CROWs' spell tags had all but saved their lives during the battle, where it greatly slowed the hard-hitting ones enough for them to dodge or reduce the damage by stepping back. Speaking of the CROWs, Link himself had cuts and bruises all over. Tokusa and Goshi had been hit a few times, Allen wasn't quite sure, but they seemed as beaten up as the rest do.

Tim, after the battle, decided to fly down and nestled himself upon Allen's snow white hair, stained a bit by crimson red liquid. Tim then picked out a dried finger from the bush and tossed it aside before settling himself neatly onto the middle of Allen's head. The young man chuckled. "Thank you for getting that thing off my head, Tim."

"Wow…" Lavi breathed, lying on the ground with hands and legs spread wide, seemingly out of stamina. He laughed. "This is really crazy. How did we – no wait, don't answer that. I'm just glad we make it out alive."

"Me too." Lenalee stated.

"But to be honest, though," Link managed between heaves. "That. Was. Very. Hard."

"Way too hard." Allen said. "And way too shitty to not involve Akumas, or a Noah, or Innocence…" Then he frowned. "Maybe a Noah."

"Then we can't afford to rest now, can we, master apostles?" Tokusa, after refraining himself from speaking for hours, finally spoke up, as sarcastic as his facial expressions had always been. And it ticked Allen off, somehow.

"Well, let us rest a while first." Lavi cut in before the sparks between the two started a fucking fire. "We'll investigate some more –"

The ground shook.

They all scrambled to fighting stances, with the CROWs bringing out their remaining spell tags, which had been halved by the fight with the undead. The giant statue, covered in snow, began to move. And before their very eyes, a part of the snow was melt, revealing four red eyes staring at them. The rest of its body produced enough heat to vaporize the snow covering it, and before long, a demon with two giant tusks and four horns, one broken, replacing the statue with an abomination.

Its roar was more than enough to shake the ground, and it was at least four times the size of normal humans. Its red eyes glared at them, its mouth gaping wide, and its giant, clawed arm reached for a pole in the ground. What it pulled out, however, was a hammer about the same height as the beast was, with giant spikes at the end. Its long, barbed tail was covered in old blood, and the tip of it was shaped like a morning star.

And then it set its eyes upon them.

"Oh my _god_ , are you shitting me!?" It was Link who cursed that first, legs still weak from all the fighting they had beforehand.

"I wish it wa – _Woahhhh!_ "

Lavi's sentence was cut mid-way when the great hammer arched passed his head and took a tower down with it. The structure fell into the valley below, with a loud splash of water being heard after.

"If we got hit by that…" Lavi stated again.

"No shit, Capt'n Obvious." Allen snarled before Lavi got the last words out.

Surely, they're in deep shit today.

 ** _TBH, That's a long ass, confusing ass, jumping ass ones...but here ya go._**

 ** _Please review! And Fav! And Follow! :D :D :D_**

 ** _Until next time, folks!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Duh-huh! Sunday Mornin'! I'm alive :D :D :D_**

 ** _anyways, to not take much of your precious time, here is the sixth chapter!_**

 ** _Chapter Six: The Four Horn Demon_**

They were running out of grounds to dodge the attack.

A single swing from the hammer took out towers, cracked the ground into tiny pieces, and crushed the rocks to dust. The wind creating from the swings put away the fire created by its fire breaths, and the speed of its attacks was insane for its size. The eyes always followed them around, and its tail kept moving behind it, striking when the opportunity presented itself. Its nose blew out ashen smoke that when inhaled, burned the innards and caused immense pain, and the strength of the wind from its mouth could sent any of them, even Allen, flying down to their deaths.

The beast howled again, this time hell bent on catching them under its giant hammer. The way it brandished the abnormally large weapon and the way it synced the attack of its hammer with its tail and its poisonous, fire and ashen breaths were devastating. Even Clown Crown's cape did little to stop the deadly breaths, and the CROWs' Binding Wings did naught to slow it down; all of the spell tags were either burned off or blew into the wind.

They had been running and jumping around, avoiding the strikes by close margins, and occasionally breathing in the toxic breaths, leaving them in pain and immobile. They were saved by those who escaped in time, and the cycle resumed. Lavi, on some rare occasion where the barrages stopped, tried to counter with Gouraiten, but the serpent were swat away like flies when it approached the titan's hand. And that, coupled with their still living and breathing forms, only served to anger the beast more.

After about ten minutes of running around, they realized that the beast had been reducing their footing by slapping away the floor, a large chunk at a time, until what remained were patches of bricks over the still standing pillars here and there. The four towers around the courtyard was all put completely gone, and the beast had now relocated itself to the staircase leading up to where it was, eyes glaring and nose spewing out purple, toxic breath.

It roared again, its tusks glowed, and this time it slammed with both its hands, increasing the already demonic strength to a new level. When the hammer made contacted with the ground, the fortress was splited into two, and all of them but Lenalee (who hang on by her boots) and Allen (who happened to have his Clown Belts stuck at the tip of the demon's hammer) fell down.

Lenalee screamed, at the top of her lungs.

After that, things were blurry, with snows and rubbles alike falling alongside one another. Lavi managed to grab Link by the collar and extended his hammer enough that it got them stuck between two faces of the valley, while the other two Third Exorcists used their left arms to grab at the rocky surface and stopped their fall after long slide down. They looked up, and the beast was using its arms and legs to prevent itself from falling and, at the same time, slide down bits by bits (its bits were just so large a distance it should not be called bits, really) in order to reach them, its tail still swinging about.

Allen deactivated his Innocence and freefall from the hammer, then activated again and shot Clown Belt up to its horn. The beast roared, using one of its giant flaming tusk to hook at the belt and threw him to the Cliffside. The rocks fell off alongside his body, which plunged unstopped to the river below. It was Lenalee who managed to catch him on time, although the blow he received had cracked a few ribs, which protruded out from his skin dangerously.

"Enbu Kirikaze!" She bellowed, creating whirlwind and whipped up the snow and debris, obscuring its vision, before she soared up high and reached the topside. Lavi and the Third exorcists managed to follow shortly after. They could still hear the roar of _that thing_.

Allen breathed dangerously fast and shallow, with blood tickling down the side of his lips. His eyes sealed shut at the pain, and Crown Clown had long since deactivated. She heaved and tore off one of her sleeves, tying it around the unstoppable bleeding wound where the rips poked out. She then glanced at Lavi, terrified and trembling uncontrollably.

After a moment, when he had regained his composure, he moved hurriedly and pushed at the CROWs' backs, while hurling Allen onto his shoulders. With a sympathetic look to Lenalee, he uttered, "Let's run. We can't fight it."

"But the villagers –"

"We need to go." He repeated. "We have to. _Now_."

No sooner after he had finished the words, flame burst from behind and engulfed every remnants of the fortress into dust. A large shadow leapt from the valley, and the beast slammed down, facing them with a devious grin and a gnarl. It was huffing smoke through its ringed nose like a bull waiting to ram a red cape in Spanish bull fights, and its eyes, only three remaining as Allen managed to take out one beforehand, were glaring down at them.

Lavi paled, and barely moved aside in time when the hammer came down with greater speed and ferocity. The ground cracked before them, and that large chunk of rock fell into the valley. Another stroke, and what was once the base where the fortress was built upon were crushed and turned into mere shards of stones. Then, with great precision, the beast used its tail to grab a few of those shards, and then swung them at the exorcists, turning harmless stones into deadly hails of arrows.

With his hammer, Lavi shielded them. But the sheer physical damage caused by the hails was enough to crack his Innocence open. He quickly used Wood Seal and created dense fog in the area, before carrying Allen (who he set down when he guarded them from the rain of stones) back onto his shoulders and started sprinting. The omnious growls and the sound of hammer swinging in the background made him want to get out of there as soon as possible. This thing is too dangerous. They probably needed to evacuate the villagers as soon as possible, as well.

They didn't get far, as a fire breath caused the fog to disperse. An angry roar was heard, before the beast ascended and sky-dropped atop of their head. Link used his fire seal up in its ass (nice one, Lavi noted) while Goshi used his brute strength to topple its balance and Tokusa followed up by using Binding Wings to pull it down to the ground. With the last of their spell tags, they sealed it to the snow-covered ground, and went to help Lavi carried the still critical Allen back to the village.

From the shadow of the forest, a pair of red eyes glowed before fading into the background.

….

"He _what_?"

Komui said in disbelief. He never thought there was anything like the creature Lenalee had described to exist in this world. From what he had heard, it did not fit the appearance, nor the behavior, of an Akuma. And to think that Allen, who probably had the most personal defensive abilities amongst the groups sent, was put out of commission just like _that_. He sighed and slumped back to his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly. _Off all the things…_

 _"_ _Brother, what should we do?"_ Lenalee sounded scared. Scared and loss. He understood it. After all, they are close friends, and she held him dearly, close to her heart. _"We can't open the gate now, and even though the villagers are packing and beginning to evacuate, we can't outrun that thing."_

"Wait, let me –"

"Supervisor!" Bridget suddenly interrupted, a golem fluttering closely beside her. Lenalee turned silence at the interruption, although her ragged breath still went through. And it worried him greatly.

"What is it? Make it quick."

"It's Central, sir. They said it's urgent."

 _What now,_ "Connect them in then. Lenalee, hang in there a bit, okay? I'll figure something out, I promise you."

She only replied with a hum, so terrified and shaken. When the line from Central connected in, he was greeted by an unfamiliar voice. _"Greetings, Komui Lee. The name's Richard. How are the exorcists in Russia?"_

 _How did you know?_ Komui wanted to ask that. He wanted to know how in the hell this man's timing was _this_ impeccable. He wanted to know why he would call now, or who he is, even. But time is short, and any help or help-like offers, he would accept without a pause. "They're not doing so great. Allen Walker is badly injured, so their escape route is limited. From what I've heard, the thing they fought uses a hammer, can breaths fire, quick for its size, and it would come for them soon."

A pause. _"And their current location?"_

"A village in Krasnoyarsk Krai, about 30-40 miles up north from the city named Norilsk" He quickly informed Richard, or so he was called. There were a few discussions in the background.

The man then said. _"Stay put. Someone will be there to assist shortly."_

"A General?"

 _"_ _No,"_ Was the immediate reply. The man assured him after. _"Do not worry. Your people are in good hands now. If the thing comes for them before help gets there, try to lure the demon away. Lenalee Lee is there, isn't she? She could outrun that demon, without fail. I'm sure of it."_

"But –"

 _"_ _We do not have much choice, Supervisor. Do what you must. We'll do our job correctly, if you do yours."_

And with that, the line was dead.

….

"…phew," The man sighed after the call. He didn't know why he was willing to do this, but since it's an exorcist – actually, a bunch of them – losing even one is a great loss to the cause. He couldn't afford that. He combed his bright red hair with his hand, blowing the wind to put the stray few strands out of his face, and then straightened himself. Before him was Kanda, in his casual wear (a white shirt and black vest, with slightly loosed red tie) and Clara, who seemed a bit beaten up. They stared at him. "What?"

"You're not sending me there, are you?" Kanda asked, still tired from all the _extermination_ he had been doing for the past few months. He did not like the idea of going back to the Order just yet. The way those blue eyes was staring at him, though. "No, I refuse to go. Please send someone else."

"I didn't say I was sending you, Kanda." He merely shrugged, handing Clara, whose face was covered in blood and oil and sand his handkerchief. "I only called you here to inform you about your _friends –"_

 _"_ _They_ aren't my _friends_ , Grand Master." He said, frowning. " _Acquaintances,"_

"Yes, yes, _Acquaintances._ " The Grand Master unwillingly corrected himself. He got up; putting a ring with square signet which contained a Red Cross Pattee and four words, _In Hoc Signo Vinces_ , at each side of the square, on his right ring finger, much like the ring Kanda and Clara were wearing. "Anyhow, there's all there is to this. You may proceed to your next mission."

"And what might that be?"

"Assassination." The man said casually. "A Turkish Noble named Ayberk …I think. I heard he was funding our oppositions. Please get rid of him."

"Funding with what?"

"Money and bodies, the usual." He merely shrugged. Kanda grinned.

"It'll be done." The way Kanda easily accepted an assassination mission would have worried Komui; enraged him, even. But he didn't care. That guy wasn't here. "Do you want to leave the message? Or do this one clean?"

"Keep it clean. We don't want to cause ruckus in the Middle East."

"Just yet."

"Yes, just yet."

"Master Richard." Clara, after clearing her face of all the liquids and possible secretions from those scorpions' abdomen, called the red-haired man, with her hands still busy wiping away all the… _things_ on her skirt. Was that a – _oh my god it's a gizzard_. "Are you going there personally?"

"I don't see why not." He smiled, ordering his secretary to cover for him while he was on _a business trip_. He then offered Clara her hand. "Do you want to join me? This might be a good way to exercise, you know."

"Sure, sir." She accepted, taking his hand. After adjusting her Crest Ring, she glanced at Kanda, who had, yet again, begun to light a cigarette. "Kanda, do you mind letting use walk the Void? I mean –"

"It's still out of commission." He cut her off, although there was no annoyance in his voice at all - only a bit of irritation, which was not directed at her. "It seems my last bouts with _that guy_ –" Clara and Richard could clearly sense the anger, and maybe some self-directed hatred, in his voice "–shattered the wall. I can't even fucking call out Seth. Need a few more days to repair it, I think."

"Is it that bad?"

He eyed her. "What do you mean? Of course it is. It's _that fucking guy_ we're talking about. And I have to have a race against time against _The Earl_ next. Oh my _fucking god,_ please kill me now."

"Why against the Earl?"

"I don't know." He said, looking at Richard accusingly. The older man only held a cheapish smile. The woman had tried her best to make out the tension, in which Kanda was accusing and Richard was avoiding eyes contact. It's weird. "I only know it's something about a fucking shipment of tea and a ticket – _a pair of it_ – for Chopin's piano concerts."

"A _what?_ "

"Don't ask. I won't repeat myself."

"Alriiiiiiiiight," The red-haired man dragged the word out on purpose, giving Clara's sleeve a tug. "Let's go before we actually lost them to Tusk the Hammer. Let's give that guy a smack, shall we?"

"Would you do this?" Kanda suddenly asked, right before he left the room. "If they don't have the potential to benefit our causes?"

With a sincere smile, he answered. "Of course not."

Kanda only laughed. "Of course you wouldn't. Have fun, sir."

"I sure as hell will."

…...

The wait, even if it's only half an hour long, was excruciating.

The villagers were quick to pack their belongings and started moving, as if they had anticipated the disaster to strike them. The old man who had helped them earlier insisted on staying with them until the end, while he sent his family off with the first group who would leave the village. They could hear the roars from afar, although the CROWs' arms were still bleeding and taut, which meant that they beast was somehow still contained.

Allen was stable, for now. With the old man's limited medical knowledge, he managed to help the boy breath a bit more easily. In only a short while, he had broken into a high fever. They couldn't risk lowering his body temperature by wet piece of cloth either, since the weather would have made him even worse than he already was. Lavi was standing guard atop the house, watching the beast from afar – even a few miles away, he could still see it lashing out and tried to pry off the spell tags. A few came loose every time it moved.

It won't be long before they are attacked again.

Lenalee, after her brother informed her about the help, decided that she was indeed the only one fast enough to avert every one of its strikes. She would have to move it away if it came here – _when_ it came here. And she would need to focus, or one hit and she's done for. Her knee hadn't healed yet, either, but what choice do they have? The CROWs had run out of their weapons, and Lavi's Innocence was at the breaking point.

She quietly wished for help – whoever it was – to come faster. She didn't like feeling weak, but in this kind of situation, feeling weak was normal. She doubted that a General or two would change a thing, though. Maybe General Tiedoll's summons would do well against it, but… she shook her head, and only focus on Allen's face. She needed to focus. All they could do now was waiting for the help. Her brother didn't tell her who was coming, though.

"Miss Lenalee," Link called her, his right arms shaking from the strain. He had been clutching his arm in pain for a while now, Lenalee noted. She only gave her a _what is it_ look, in which he noticed, and continued. "Don't worry so much about Walker. He'll be fine."

"I know." She lied. "I know." _Focus, Lenalee, focus!_

"You worried too much."

"I know."

After that, silence reigned, whereas Link tried his hardest not to grunt at the gradually (not so gradual now, actually) increasing pain and Lenalee tried her best not to cry again. Kanda – who was still missing, she remembered – used to, or _still do,_ scolded her a lot about being a crybaby since she was a kid. She thought he was right. Speaking of Kanda… no one except Lavi seemed to have an idea as to where he was, or why Central would use him to begin with.

Lavi did say it might be something about Second Exorcist Project. When she asked her brother, all she got was tense silence as an answer, so she stopped asking him completely. Mentally, she slapped herself; even though she still worried sick about Kanda, she had to focus on present first. She's the only one capable of outrunning that thing, as such, she needed to be the decoy.

As if being able to read her mind, Link said from the side. "I wish I know where Kanda Yuu might be. Sadly I, or even Inspector Lvellie, have not an idea where he is."

She was surprised by that. Usually, Link never shared any bits of information.

Then again, as if her face was that clear to read, his eyes shifted to where Allen was and spoke with a frown on his face. "Walker and Junior asked me once about it. I was curious, so I asked Inspector Lvellie. He said he honestly did not know, but he did say that it might have something to do with the Swiss Guard Captain, since he heard that the man had been _'eyeing that boy for a while now'_ , or so was his words."

She scowled. That explained little, but it gave a bit of answer. So neither Lvellie nor his superiors – the _Cardinals_ – had anything to do with it. Part of her was glad, while the other part was more concerned than what it was a few minutes ago. Still, "Thank you for sharing still, Link. Thank you."

"You looked like you could need something." He said. "So…"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Then she felt something flat hit her head softly. She looked up to see Tim, a bit dusty from all the debris falling around him, patting her head with his right wing. He had been circling both her and Allen for a while now, but she seemed to be oblivious to him with all the worries she's having.

She smiled up at the golem. "I'm better now, Tim."

He shook his golden body and nested himself atop of her head.

"Allen's fine for now," Lavi said, walking up from behind them. True to his words, Allen was more or less stable, with his face slightly redden and his chest heaved, but he looked so much better than how he was before. Lavi sat down beside her, his hammer remained activate all the time. He was on guard, which was one of the few indicators that the situation is quite dire. "All we can do now is waiting for whatever helps is coming, eh?"

"Yeah." She quietly said. "Are you okay, Lavi?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," He assured her with a sheepish smile. "Just a few sprains and cuts here and there. I'm doing better than you, at least."

She pouted. "That's not how you talk to a lady."

He laughed and gave her a pat on the head. "C'mon now, Lena-lady, don't be so gloomy, eh? Things will be fine."

"Do you think so?"

He shook his head, but, "I'd like to believe so."

"Good enough." She said, standing up and smiled back at him. A moment after, Link broke out into a fit of coughs, panting harshly, his hand gripping his right arm in an attempt to try to stop the bleeding.

"It's loosed." He managed between pants. "Miss Lee…"

"I know." She said and went for an exit, only to be stopped by Lavi.

"I'll go with you."

"No! Your Innocence –"

"I won't let you go face shit alone, Lenalee."

The intensity of his words, and the way his eye was staring at her forced her to step down. With that kind of expression, she could not say no. So after they moved Allen down into the basement and told the elder to stay put, the pair ventured out into the cold. After a mile or so, they heard a roar, and before they could act on it, the beast jumped down right on top of their heads. With Lenalee's speed, they were able to avoid being made into a paste. Fortunate or no, they had dragged the beast's attention to them completely.

Lenalee used her agility to confuse it, making it trying to swat her like a man would to a fly, while Lavi used the occasional shift in balance to try and topple it over. All that it did was making its knees buckled a bit, and angered it some more. Once they could no longer see the village, Lenalee used her golem and waited for the Central – or anyone really – to contact them. She hated to admit it, but they needed help.

This thing is far more dangerous than ten Level Fours, she was sure of it.

And then, she must admitted, that she would have been long dead without Lavi. When she was exhausted, he took her place and drew its attention to him, even if he faced more difficulty to staying alive than she would. If he was in a path of imminent injury, she intercepted, then switched with him. It's a good thing that the beast was borderline idiotic. Even if it had limited strategy forming capacity, it was too slow to follow their plays.

Or so they had thought.

After fifteen minutes or so, it seemed to get bored and decided to stop being an idiot altogether. Firstly, it completely ignored Lenalee and went for Lavi with its gigantic arms, while its tail wielded its hammer and swinging it in fast, wide arc to prevent Lenalee from getting in. Seeing this, the red-head went into defensive position, using his hammer's size as a shield.

With only a few attacks, Iron Hammer broke into pieces, and Bookman Junior was sent flying by air current. Lenalee went in to try and save him, but the damn tail was stopping her. The beast seemed to be giving her a _grin_ before it went in for a sure kill. At that moment, Lavi looked at her and mouthed, with a sheepish smile, _I'm sorry._

When its fist smashed where Lavi stood, she could only stare in shock.

But for Lavi, death never came to him.

"And here I thought he was much weaker than this." A voice came from in front of him, with a few strains in it. "I appeared to be quite weak, indeed."

"If you're judging by the Commander's standard, then yes." A female voice came from behind him. His green eye met her face, covered by a mask of a Japanese Fox, silver in color with her green eyes visible through the circular eyes hole. She knelt down beside him, prying open his gaping wound with great care. "Huh… they did a good job surviving this far."

"They did." The male voice echoed, and when the smoke clear, he was greeted by a man in brown cloak and tattered cowl, his arm – covered by golden gauntlet with red embroider – was holding the demon's fist from crushing them into a pasta. He looked at Lavi through his Lion helmet, and seemed to be _smiling_. "Are you well, Bookman Junior?"

After a beat of complete lack of any words, where he tried to comprehend their impeccable timing and unexplained presences – which he had failed, by the way – he nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Absolutely. Thanks."

"No need to thank us." She said, her ring with Cross Pattee insignia glowed slightly, and Lavi felt the pain in his wound eased. "We're doing this for our own gain. It's a win-win situation."

"We can do the explaining later, girl." The man said, and with a heave, he pushed the demon's arm high into the sky, causing it to stumble back and fell on its behind. It roared as it got up. The man only drew out from his cloak a silver-dark blue greatsword with illegible inscriptions all over.

He put the sword on his shoulder, knees slightly bent.

"We have extermination target to annihilate."

 ** _There you go, folks!_**

 ** _I seriously have a problem using 's doc management _ So lame of me_**

 ** _Please do drop a fav! And Review! I read every one of your reviews and smile_** ** _every time_** **** ** _someone make a comment! So please do that! I'd much appreciate the gesture! :D_**

 ** _Until next time, yo!_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Hello Saturday Mornin :D. Today Imma go watch Civil War XD Yey!_**

 ** _...and I have to start class 6.30 am tomorrow :x well... can't be helped_**

 ** _Sorry in advance for any Typos. I know they're there. When I'm free, I think I'll look into it and fix it. But for now... Eiiiiiiiieeeee..._**

 ** _Alright, here's the next chap for you, good folks :D_**

 ** _Chapter Seven: Overwhelming Power_**

" _What the fuck are you?"_

The owner of the voice was dead soon after those words came out. Kanda, as he wiped the blood off his sword, used his foot to unceremoniously push the headless body down into the pool, already red with blood and dead bodies he had previously thrown in. The fountain's springer still worked even after all the commotions, spouting red water out from the statue of a war angel. His dark eyes watched a few men tried to climb up from the corpse pool, only for them to slip and fell back. He ignored them as they pleaded for him to save their lives and went into the mansion, all but void of any living things.

His sword rested on his shoulder as he strode past the cowering maids and kids, ignoring their cries and desperate pleas. He had no intention to dispose of them, of course, since they had not attacked or tried to raise an alarm. He poked his head into one of the rooms in the long corridor, only to be greeted by a hijab-wearing woman, her arms shaking violently as she pointed her dull, cooking knife at him. Kanda gave her a raised eye brow, went in without pause, and pushed her aside. She fell to the ground; the knife went under the bed. He ignored her as she scrambled out of the room, only focusing on an object before him; a golden cube.

He picked it up, inspecting it briefly before tugging it under his garb. He spun around, and used his sword to block a bullet that came behind him through the window, while his free hand grabbed at the pistol aiming at him. The man, seemingly a guard, stared at him in terror. His sword was swung quickly and cleaved the man's head off clean. He then used the momentum from such swing, reversing the grip of his sword half-way, and then threw it as if it was a throwing lance. He heard a cry before a body fell down from the tree.

His fingers curled slightly, and in an instant, the sword that was thrown a few seconds ago vanished and a tiny shining ball of light appeared in his hand. The light expanded, forming itself into a sword. When the dust dispersed, all that remained in his hand was the same katana he had just thrown. He threw it up into the air a few times, inspecting its weight, before he returned it to his shoulder and waltzed out of the room, past the still-staring bodiless head.

When he made it out to the back door, he was greeted by a man, fat and tall, with his colorful top hat on his long, purplish face. His eyes, hidden under the round glasses, glared at him with such intensity normal humans would cower and flee. Of course, it affected him not. With a smile, he bowed, greeting the gentleman before him. "I was expecting you, Earl."

"I am surprised," The Earl disregarded his greeting and went to express his feelings. He grabbed the pumpkin umbrella by the handle, and from it came forth the greatsword not unlike Allen's. He let is eyes, full of resentment, became visible through careful shift of his face. "I have never imagined a man, so hateful of the Black Order like you, to be doing their dirty works."

"Things change, Earl." He said with a grin and a shrug. His sword still rested on his shoulder. Kanda made no attempt to change his stance whatsoever. It even looked like he was relaxed in front of the _source of all evil_ , as Lvellie had once put it. "The Pope's orders are absolute. Much as I hate to say, I can't do much about it. So, there you go."

"That crest, though," The Earl pointed at his right ring finger, where the ring with Cross Pattee was worn, and gave him a questioning look. The Earl, at this point, had begun to circle Kanda carefully, unwilling to give out any openings to the man who had become a hound for the Central. "I have seen it… long ago, somewhere. Do you mind telling me what meaning it holds?"

"Of course I mind." The Japanese merely laughed at that, only turning himself slightly so that the Earl may not drop out from his sight. Other than that, he seemed to sport no concern or something of the likes to his current situation. He was more confident than an exorcist should in front of the Millennium Earl, the Earl noted. Kanda then put an index finger in front of his own lips, in a gesture of remaining silence. "Some things aren't meant to be shared."

"Then I'll wriggle that out of you."

The fight began with an overhead swing, which Kanda blocked with the hilt of his sword easily. Despite his hulking form, the Earl was agile, and had both the strength and agility to turn his greatsword into a devastating weapon. Sadly, Kanda could easily repel most of his attacks, and those he cannot he simply dodged or used the momentum of the Earl's blade in conjunction with a timed parry to diverge the path of the blade. Another overhead swing, and this time Kanda stopped the blade with his left arm, while his katana, much to the Earl's ire, still sat quietly on his shoulder.

The Earl had put all of his muscle power into that swing, but it was stopped short by mere _human flesh_. Kanda's face contained no sign of pain, and the way the blade sounded when it hit his arm indicated that there was something underneath the sleeve. Kanda threw him off balance when he repelled the sword and do a front summersault, bringing his blade down where the Earl was. The elder's eyes then caught sight of the Japanese's arm…

…and his arm looked like nothing special.

Frustrated, he went into chains of attacks, trying is best to bring the subject of his anger to his knees. Some strikes, Kanda parried and riposted, while others he simple blocked with his hand. Although he could do the same with Kanda's blade, the fact that his attacks were easily blocked annoyed him to no end. So, after a few minutes of exchanges, he asked, "How come a human like you can stop my attacks so easily? Did you use a spell or something?"

"It's my Innocence." He replied with a smile. After they broke apart, with the Earl retaining his stance while Kanda fished out a pack of cigarette and took one into his mouth, Kanda continued. "Each Innocences has unique abilities, true, but what they share in common once "Fully Realized" is defensive and offensive boosts to the Accommodators."

"Fully Realized Innocences, you say?" He had never heard such words in his seven thousand years, but he doubted that Kanda had lied. Digging in more about this might do him well. "I've never heard of such idiocy! Innocences are but weapons, are they not? Then what do you mean by Fully Realized ones?"

"You'll know about it," He paused, sheathing his blade completely, with both his hands in his coat's pockets. That stance, for the Earl to be frank, worried him more than what Kanda had been doing previously. "If you can answer one of my questions correctly, that is."

"Then what might that question be?"

With a smile, dark and unreadable, Kanda spoke;

"How long have you been a tool for _the Puppeteer_ , you fool?"

He stared at Kanda as if he was doing something atrocious and preposterous at the same time. But the word Puppeteer sounded oddly familiar, even if he had never heard it before. And they way those words made his inside growled and invoked his anger without explainable reasons made him uneasy. He decided to ask Wisely about it later, although he doubted it would do him any good. Setting that aside, he calmed himself down from his unreasonable fury and replied. "I have no idea what you're talking about, exorcist."

"Hm. Thought so," He said, unsurprised by the reply. But he seemed to take an offense about being called an exorcist. "And please do refer to me by my name or by my rank, Commander, next time, would you?"

"I have no need to remember such things."

He shrugged and chuckled once. "Suit yourself."

As Kanda rushed at the Earl and prepared for a surprised Battojuttsu, he noticed a large figure in the distance, its back hunched and its shadowed eyes seemed to be watching them. After he dodged a left-to-right swing from the Earl, he grinned at it and gave it his full, uncovered middle finger.

He mentally laughed as it went the other way.

 _If I see you next time, I'll kill you for good, you fucking stalker._

….

They had witnessed just how powerless they were.

The Lion and the Fox, as Lavi nicknamed them by the masks, easily stood their grounds against the demon, with little effort on their part. Even though they were injured beforehand, Lavi concluded that, even if they were in perfect conditions before the fight, they wouldn't be able to take the beast down like those two did. The way they displayed their strength through stopping all of the beast attacks with their bare hands, or how they could diverge the fire breaths coming from its mouth was enough to proof their worth.

The Lion, Lavi had assumed to be the leader, was strong and unusually agile for someone who wielded a giant greatsword. He constantly put it back on his shoulder after each swing, something that Lavi had read to be a more correct form of fighting stance, since you negate the strength you need to hold the sword up and can prep yourself for a fast swing more readily. He had a tiny shield-like thing attached to his wrist, but he never used it, since most of the beast's claws and hammering was stopped by his brute force alone.

The Fox, a more of a strategic mind and more supportive in terms of power, has less strength than the Lion, but she prevailed by using her environment and the demon's own momentum at her leisure. She often would lead it to attack something else, be it the light she created in her palms or the Lion (who would yell at her and scold her for that), and used a few attacks of her own to stagger it, often aiming at its weak points: the eyes and the back of its knees.

Little by little, they chipped away at the beast. One swing from the Lion's greatsword would sever a huge chunk of flesh from it, and one such attack even cut its hammer into pieces. The white flame from the Fox, and the nine "tails" created from the same fire, fed on the poisonous and flaming breath the beast released and turned those against it. As Lavi and Lenalee got a bit further away from the scene, they both thought of the same thing.

That they were weak, and hopeless.

After only about twenty minutes or so, the Lion dealt a killing blow by going up its arm and decapitated it. With a final struggle of its body, the demon fell and turned into dust, slowly being carried away by the wind. Once they were done, the Fox went to take a look at Lenalee's and Lavi's injuries, humming softly as she went, while the Lion put his sword away. "Well, you two seems to be doing alright now. A bit of rest would do. Where're the rest?"

"Back in the village." Lenalee answered, eyeing the village as she did. The Fox followed her gaze and stood up, a tiny ball of white flame in her hand. After a while of concentrating, she put the fire away and turned to her master.

"We're done here. Allen Walker is fine now. The doctors at the Order can take care of him from here." Then, upon receiving looks from the two, she added directly to them. "We'll send someone here to fetch you people, worry not. I have a job to do, and that guy –" she jerked her thumb at the Lion, who had occupied himself with a call from a transmitter under his helmet "– has a shitload of paperwork ahead of him. And no, before you ask, we are both accommodators, but we worked directly for the Central."

"Mind if I –" Lavi began.

"I do mind everything you'd want to say, Junior." She cut him off, her hostility towards them now prominent. "As I said, we do this with our own benefits before yours. Losing exorcists at this point would be disadvantageous to the war effort. Now if you please, we'll be going now. Go back and wait at where-the-hell-ever you came from. Doctors will be there shortly."

And with that, they departed, uttering not another word.

"Wow…" Lenalee, after a minute, said.

"…yeah…" Lavi finished for her, and then he opted with a shouted whisper (?). " _So much hostility!"_

"Well…at least they helped us. A lot." She tried, without much success, to be optimistic. But the way the Fox said those words though, it ticked her off to no end. "Well, now, we should go back to the village. They must be worried sick about us."

"True." Lavi said.

Unbeknownst to her, Lavi's perfect vision allowed him to remember their clothing. It came off as nothing much, but he couldn't help noticing the rings on their ring fingers, with the red cross and Latin words – _In hoc signo vinces._

The emblem reminded him of the Crusade War.

That emblem…belongs to the Knight Templar.

…

In his feverish state, Allen dreamed.

He dreamed of many things. His time at the circus, his life with Mana, who cherished him so, and his Master, who took care of him despite all the shits he had thrown at him. And when he opened his eyes, he was in a world so bland it was akin to a desert than a plain. There were dried-up trees, endless dark sky with occasional green lightning. In the middle was a pond, dark and mirroring the sky – and himself, to some extent. His eyes then were drawn to something at the edge of the black water – a stone throne, with a man sitting on it.

A man wore a cloth much like his formal attire, with black wavy hairs, fair grey skin and Noah's stigmata on his forehead. Allen then assumed he must be the Fourteenth. When the man spotted him, he stood up with a warm smile, not like how the shadow Allen always saw reflecting from the mirrors each minute in the waking world. He decided to wander closer, and once he was in the Noah's earshot, the Fourteenth greeted him. "Hello there."

"Erm…hello?" He was unsure as to how he should respond. His instinct told him he was not an enemy, but for all the logics in the world, he should think that the man existed to erase him from the world. He walked up close enough to look him in the eye, but stayed a good distance in case he tried something funny. "Where is this place?"

"The Great Void, I called it," He introduced, opening both arms wide and spun around, admiring the view. "To be exact, this exists within you, Allen. It's a place where I – not just a memory, but also the remnants of my soul – resides. Thank you for looking after me for so long."

"So you're trying to take over, now?" Allen said, accusing.

"No, no, not that," He quickly waved Allen's suspicion away with a laugh. "I am only thanking you for letting me stay for so long. Well, in any case. You're here, which means you're unconscious in the real world. Mind if I ask what the hell happened that put you out of the commission like this?"

At that question, Allen felt a wave of helplessness and guilt washed over him. The demon was probably an Akuma, a highly evolved one, and to think that they stood no chance at all against it. He was weak, but way too stubborn and too naïve to see that. He paid it with his friends and his own blood for his stupidity. "About that… It's probably an Akuma."

"You lost, hm?" The Noah finished, contemplating something as he went. His golden eyes locked on Allen's silver ones before reassuring him with a pat on his shoulder. "I think I've known of that thing somewhere. It's a very old and powerful Akuma. Its power might even rival the Earl's own, if not more. Losing to it is no big deal –"

"It _is_ a big deal!" Allen snapped at him, losing his calm. "It means I can't _fight_ it! I can't protect _anything_ from it! I am weak, and –"

"Stop, _stop!_ "

He hadn't known he was crying so profusely, nor did he realize he was on the ground, fisting the dust and bleeding his palm with it. The Noah had knelt down before him, looking concerned. He slowed down his breath until he could control both his emotions and his body, then after a while, he looked up into those golden eyes – so familiar, yet not quite so. "Sorry."

"Don't be." He said. "It's only natural. When I tried to kill the Earl, I felt the same way that you do."

Allen blinked. "You _what_?"

"Let me tell you, short version, from the start, then." He said with a laugh. Although…by the being's words to him a few weeks ago, he ought to distort some of the information. Allen needed not know his first intend was to take his place and use his body. He had found an alternative now. And he'd rather not make Allen think he was an enemy any longer.

Allen frowned slightly. "Please do, I'd like to hear it. And maybe I can convince Central that you _and_ I are not their enemies."

"I find that to be a near-impossible feat, but…well." He shrugged, sitting down on the ground beside Allen and began to tell him his story.

From above, a white cape with clown mask looked down, satisfied by the turn of events. It realized that soon the Heart will made himself known, and at that moment, they needed to be ready.

War is coming, and when it started, they'll burn if they're not prepared.

…

 _The Earl and I were once one, the Millennium Earl. I was the light, and he was the Dark. We coexisted with different ideals. I see mankind as a child who needs guidance to be good, while he sees them as no more than miscreants that needs to be annihilated from the Earth. From small bouts, became conflict. And conflict became war._

 _And what as war bring us?_

 _I saw no other way, so I spoke with Cross and a friend – you, Allen – about it. They agreed to help me. In order for Noah and humans to coexist, I need to kill him. My own flesh and blood. My own brother._

 _But I failed._

 _I killed almost all of them, as they all stood in my way, not seeing the reason. When I made it to the Earl, there was someone else with him. Drenched in blood and irradiated an abnormally ferocious killing intent, it spoke to him, driving him into blood rage. And with its help, he killed me. Before I die, my memory was safeguarded by you, my old friend._

 _But over time, he found you, and tried to kill you._

 _That's when Crown Clown came in. That's when he helped us._

 _But in the process, your memories were wiped away, leaving only this empty shell of what you once were. And you, Allen, had all but surprised me in your journey to become an exorcist. I saw no other way but to kill you and use your body, but now I see that there is indeed a way._

 _I'd like for you to live. Alongside me._

 _Dear friend, you will not know that I have known you for a long time. Telling you Mana is the Earl, and that you was a friend of mine 35 years ago would do little but scarred you. So I decided, changing little bits of details would make not much a different._

 _This time, I wish to be your friend again. And this time, I'll protect you._

 _I'm sorry that I tried to kill you before. I've lost sight of who I was, and I changed into something I despised; a murderer. I'm sorry. Please…forgive me._

 _Because now… I will never lost sight of who I am again._

 ** _Alright there, here's the seventh chapter for you!_**

 ** _Sorry about some lots of OCs introduction, but trust me, each of them has significant roles in the backstory. Although you can ignore it for like, a dozen chapter or so? Hahahaha XD_**

 ** _PLease leave a Comment! :D_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_As it turned out, each and every chapters seem to be longer and longer... huh_**

 ** _Hey there, folks! I'm back, with one more chapter for you guys!_**

 ** _I did not run out of ideas, mind you. Just simply that typing the scenario I have in my head is really... hard. And hard. Did I mention hard? XD_**

 ** _Anyways, have fun with this one! :D_**

 ** _..._**

 ** _Chapter Eight: Recovery_**

The duel has been very draining and tedious.

They exchanged blows for hours on end, with one not giving up an inch to the other. Kanda was agile, and each strikes he made was savage and, despite training vigorously in orthodox ways, unpredictable. While the Earl, long since discarded his stupidly bulky frame and using his real body, dealt each blows with more strength than he had previously let on. Kanda had stopped using his arm to block and completely opted for dodging, and the Earl did the same, only with slightly more difficulty than the former was having.

Kanda jumped with Mugen stabbing the ground. He used it as some kind of lever to push himself up, and in the process stop the Earl's sword shot in its path. Then, with his downward momentum, he swung Mugen with one hand in a wide arc from top to bottom. The Earl barely made it out of there as the sword cracked the ground open, sporting himself another shallow cut on the forehead. He snared and swung one more time, but it was too late. Kanda's feet had already touched the ground by then, so jumping back was not an issue for him.

The Earl had realized quite a while ago that while he had earned himself more than a few dozen cuts, Kanda had none, only torn overcoat. Even his tie remained intact – not even a speck of dust was on it – during the bouts they had. Somehow, he was at a disadvantage. He hadn't been using all of his power, but from what he's sensing, nor does the exorcist before him. His already deep frown intensified. Even Cross, one of the two men he hated the most, wasn't even at this level. This…is beyond anything he'd faced.

And the way he stood, his stance, his face… he clearly _knew_ he could face the Earl toe to toe, or even more. Although he reserved some of his strength for some unknown reason, the Earl assumed that the exorcist didn't have any intention to kill him. And one thing that bugged him the most was the fact that the man kept checking his pocket watched, and muttered something about a missing call. The Earl stepped back a bit, sword still raised, as he asked a question. "Why are you holding back?"

As if he hadn't been paying attention to the Earl before, Kanda jerked up slightly, eyes clearly reflecting his surprise. He blinked once, then twice, and then said with a curious tone. "Hmm? Holding back? Me? Oh, right, sorry about that. I was kind of occupied right now. If you don't mind –"

"What the _fuck_ are you talking about, you foolish man?" So this man, this _experimental subject_ , was underestimating him, completely shameless. How dare a human such as himself be looking down on him, the Earl? His face contorted in anger as he breathed out loudly once. "I will make sure to use Alma Karma against you, you piece of –"

"His soul is already free, mind you." Kanda interrupted, a sly grin still plastered on his face. He brandished his sword once then rested in on his shoulder. With a finger tapping the hilt of his sword, he continued. "I already know about your fucked up plan of using Alma to control the Third. I must say, if you didn't have _us_ as your enemies, you might have succeeded."

The plural bothered him the most, and the way this kid was so nonchalant, even with the mention of the man he killed. How did he even know that Alma Karma's soul is freed? He had seen that boy's twisted mind before, he was certainly not free, unless something freed him. And from what he knew, not even he could free the other subject's soul from his prison. He frowned again, this time pointing his sword at the exorcist. "You're lying. No one can free a soul inside that body. I doubt even Innocence will do you any good."

"Your memories aren't all there, I see." He said with a chuckle. At this point, the Earl was more ticked off than he had ever been in a thousand years. But he remained silence; if there was something more, this man might spill it out for him. So he stilled, in hope that more information would leak. "And you are not as arrogant as I thought you are. Otherwise, you won't be keeping your mouth shut and hoping for me to spill everything out like this."

He seriously hadn't expected his scheme – even if it's thought up in the last minute – to actually be exposed so easily.

So he decided to return to his previous question; "How can you free that soul?"

Kanda smiled, but remained silence. It wasn't as if he was trying to hide any information, the Earl noted as Kanda moved his body only slightly so, his black eyes glancing over to the edge of the darkened garden. He followed, and saw nothing but darkness there. He was then taken aback when the exorcist spoke again. "Each Innocences is created from "Three Materials", just like an Akuma would; a soul, an artificial body – created by only those who knew the art of Soul Manipulation – and a strong emotion. Passion, sadness, anger, fear… just about anything can be used to create an Innocence, but the most effective ones – passion, and revenge – are the only things that _he_ actually used."

His brows, if possible, furrowed further. He had never heard of an Innocence being made that way. In fact, he has never known, at all, as to how it was made. And it used the same method an Akuma is made, too, worried him quite a bit. But he can neither confirm or denied that fact. He scoffed. "As if I would believe that. Innocences are but living artifacts created with –"

"Magic and Science, true," Kanda finished for him, shrugging as he went. His eyes, for a split second, turned completely serious. Then the eerie atmosphere of his unwavering grin and looks returned. "But where do you think the, say, _consciousness_ of each comes from? Even God cannot create _that_ from nothing. _You_ should know it best."

He didn't understand that last sentence, and even more so when Kanda continued, his eyes narrowed and his lips turned a grin into a grimace.

"After all, you are one of the few men he placed above all others, _Adam_."

"You're spewing out nonsense, foolish exorcist." He snarled at the mention of his name, entering his battle stance once more. "Now we finish this."

"I will have to disagree, Earl." He said, taking a glance from his silver pocket watch with an unreadable look. He put the watch away, and then looked up, no trace of arrogance or amusement he once held were left on his feature. "My work here is done. There is no need for me to fight you any longer."

"You speak as if you had a choice."

"To be honest," Kanda sneered this time, both irritated and amused. "You should know already that you cannot outmatch me. Try as you may, the best you could hope to accomplish now is being on par with me, Earl."

It was the truth, something the Earl didn't want to accept. But when he made a move to disagree, to actually make Kanda – or himself, even – believe that he was stronger, and _nobler_ , Kanda intercepted within a second. He was gone from the Earl's vision, and only a fraction of second later he appeared beside him, Mugen up his throat, his eyes full of killing intent. The Earl, despite knowing that he could repel it just as easily, felt something that told him not to. Not caution, but the will to _seek the truth_.

"Go find an answer. This is not who you are. Ask around about a Puppeteer, and let us see if you can embrace the truth without falling apart."

After a tense silence, Kanda lowered his blade and sheathed it. The Earl did not make a move to take an advantage of it. Instead he used this time to reflect on what he had heard today. Many things didn't seem to add up, he thought. Kanda went to the clearing, tilting his head up to look at the sky. And one last time, before he went his other way, he said.

"Come find me if you think you're not our enemy. But if you insisted, Earl, _we_ will have no choice but to kill you. Stand in our way, and we'll have your head. Step aside and we will do you no harm. Good day, _Mister Camelot_."

And with that, the sky cracked open, much like how the Ark created a rift in dimension itself. Kanda stepped forward, and disappeared, leaving only confusion and questions, all left unanswered, behind.

…

The road to recovery is long and painful.

The first few days that he came back, Allen was practically in a state of coma, where his body temperature skyrocketed and had to be put under-hours supervision of a Neurologist and Cardiothoracic specialist. Lavi was put out of commission by having his Innocence completely shattered, and Lenalee had been admit to the medical ward for about a week for her worsen injuries in her knee and three broken ribs. The CROWs seemed to get scolded a lot, Lavi noted, as the CROWs' commanders came in and reprimanded them.

Isaac was there, too.

He seemed genuinely concerned about the CROW's wellbeing, but also proud of them for risking their lives to protect the villagers. He reprimanded them for being foolish in their quests, but praised them for their bravery, quoting that "What good is bravery, without a bit of recklessness?" and calmed the other supervisors down, preventing them from being punished in any other way. Lavi had made eye contact with the man once; he had not forgotten the fact that he's the one who plundered Yuu's room.

He didn't retort, or made a smug face. Instead he only smiled warmly once and bowed down respectfully. While Lavi was having his injuries taken care off, the old man came to sit beside him and actually talked to him respectful-like, much different from how he was with Komui four months ago. He actually mentioned that he was worried if those CROWs – he referred to them as his children – would be okay. And he thanked Lavi for it.

A day or so later, Allen gained consciousness. He was the first to notice that something was very wrong about the boy. His breathing seemed faster and more labored than usual, and when he spoke he had to take breaks between a few words. When he told this to Komui, the Supervisor quickly consulted their in-house specialists, including his grandfather, for plans. He was then the first to know that one of Allen's lungs had withered by the ribs that poked it, thus making him weaker than usual.

When Allen learned of this, he had taken it hard. He cried and wailed, and that night he managed to do one-hand on-the-chair push up, and almost bled himself to death with it. Lavi still remembered, clear as if it had happened just yesterday, how he beat himself up for his own weakness. And Lavi, trying with all he had to remain detached, could not help but felt a terrible clench in his heart when he heard Allen's agonizing cries.

 _"_ _What good is a fighter who cannot fight? I can't protect anything like this! God, I'm weak and pathetic. I want to fight! That's the only thing I know how to do, that's the only way I would have any worth! Why, God, aren't you supposed to protect your apostles? Aren't you supposed to support them?"_

Bookman quickly became aware of Lavi's sympathy, something a Bookman did not need, nor can have. But he remained silence about it. He told Lavi the reason for his lack of actions later; when he was young, Bookman was as emotional as Lavi was. Only with age comes wisdom. So he was willing to bet the existences of Bookman Clan itself on time for Lavi to recover. Although, he had admitted, that even devoid of emotion, he was pained to see Allen Walker reduced to such state.

But instead of despairing like most people did, Lavi must admit Komui was an exceptional mind, indeed. He, of course, would sympathize with the boy, but he didn't let that stop him from trying to keep Allen fight-able. He developed a reconstitution and rehabilitation plan from scratch by consulting with many physicians he knew – more than a dozen, from what Lavi could gathered – in an attempt to get Allen going again. And to his astonishment, after a few weeks, he started to get better. Not the same, but an improvement still.

During that time he recovered, Bookman had had a talk with him. He had told the old man of the Templar Crest he'd found earlier, and the old man seemed to be doing some information gathering before he talked about it a second time. The Fox and the Lion's motives are unknown, most likely that they saved Lavi and the others in order to lessen their burden in the war. And the Templar Crest seemed to have some sort of importance to them, since they wore it on their fingers so proudly.

Bookman had told him to wait and read books instead of go asking around. They had come to the conclusion that talking too much might wake up the sleeping beast, so they would best treat carefully. Bookman would often go to Central, finding things in the Archive quietly, while Lavi did the work in the Black Order's HQ. Once or twice, Bookman would mention something that bring out more questions, more leads – but alas, all they had pointed to impasse, and they had to begin their work anew, over and over. As such, lives go by, with them being as low profile as possible in their investigations.

It was a month after their return that he was approached by Isaac who, yet again, came in to personally made sure Tokusa stop nagging Allen for his idealistic point of view to the world. This time around, Lavi became less hostile towards him, and he seemed to notice it. After he beat Tokusa to a pulp (and that man was already injured beforehand during a mission, too), he came to talk to Lavi while Bookman was absent.

"Good afternoon, Junior. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, no!" He quickly waved the older man off with a smile, shuffling the books about the Crusade War (he still remembered the crest he saw back then, the Cross Pattee. He was hoping he might find something) aside and stood up. He then looked around; his room was messier than Komui's office. "Sorry about the mess. I tend to leave unfinished books lying around."

"It's the same as our library." He laughed heartily, and went into Lavi and Bookman's shared room, careful not to step onto any pages. "This room of yours is quite vast compared to the others, Junior. And it contained quite a bit of information. I might need your service sometimes."

At that, Lavi remembered about Kanda. But he elected not to take about it just yet, since the order probably came from someone higher and not Isaac himself. "Well, most of the information related to the Order is already passed on through official records. If you wish, I can tell you where to find one."

"If it's already official, I can find it myself." He politely refused the younger's offer. "But it is quite generous of you. I appreciate the thoughts."

"To be fair, I am still a bit wary of you."

"Understandable." He said, looking around with both hands clasped behind his back, his hazel eyes held no malice at all. The red haired man relaxed a bit, as there seemed to be no ill intend in this visit. The older one, after speculating the room to his heart's content, turned to face Lavi. "Have you seen Bookman anywhere?"

"Er?" He was genuinely confused by this point. "He was at Central's archives, something about giving out another piece of information, I think."

"Strange…" He muttered under his breath. Upon seeing Lavi's face, he only offered a smile and waved his hand. "It's nothing, it's just that I'm usually informed of callings to the archives. I will need to make sure my subordinates thoroughly carried out my orders next time."

"You're a watcher, or something?" It's not a surprised that Isaac wouldn't know about it, since Bookman's business directly involved the higher circle inside the Vatican. But he could still feel something off. However, his own untamed curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to know what Isaac really did, so maybe he could find something about Yuu – who _is_ still missing – and connected dots together. His appearances, along with the Lion and the Fox's timing, seemed too convenient.

"Something of the like, yes," He replied. "I doubled as a Lieutenant of the Swiss Guard as well. A triple job, if you will. But my main work lies with the Swiss Guard, being their main source of information and all. And the CROWs under my command, despite how it looks, worked together with the _Papals_ to keep the order of things at the Vatican."

Papals – an old name of the Swiss Guard. Now one of his theories about Isaac involving with all the bullshits that's been happening is confirmed. Papal's name has been replaced with Swiss Guard three hundred (or so) years ago, so no one should be using the name, really. But gramps still used it sometimes, so he couldn't be one hundred percent sure, just _ninety-nine_ ( _Bias! Bias!_ His mind had screamed). "I see. That's a tough job."

"Not so when you don't have to deal with all the political bullshit of the Pope and his Cardinal peers."

That, Lavi thought, was unexpected. Wasn't Isaac supposed to be a devoted follower of the Pope, or something?

As if his mind as been read, he answered. "I gave myself to God and him only, Junior. The Pope as his lust for power has nothing to do with it, so my loyalty is not to him."

"Then to whom it is?"

With a wry smile, he answered. "You'll see, in time." Before bowing and retreated back out of the room. "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Junior. Have a good day, and give my regards to Komui Lee for me."

"Uh…sure, sure. 'Day!" He shouted out as the door shut.

After that little encounter, Lavi decided to drop the subject – for now, at least – and went to check on Allen, who have yet to be cleared for any missions. He entered the boy room uninvited (still, his oblivious-to-shit nature still existed to this day) and was greeted by a chair flying his way. He managed to duck in time as the chair flew past him into the wall across from the room. He paled and turned to face Allen, who was heaving noticeably.

After a while of concreting himself, he gave Allen a weirded-out smile, and put up a hand so that he won't be attempted murder on next time. "Uh, mind if I come in, Beany?"

" _The name is Allen_ ," He snarled, although little of his voice showed sighed of murderous intend. After he stopped heaving, he puffed out a smoke and dropped down onto the floor. Link, who had been watching, only raised an eyebrow then continued to scribble something into his book. "Sorry about that, I was just a bit… _taken away_."

"Uh…sure?" Lavi offered, and took three small steps to get into the room. He quietly shut the door, scratched the back of his neck, and greeted Link while he was at it, too. "Yo, two dots."

"How can you be so – _ugh_ ," Link seemed to want to properly teach manners to the Bookman Junior, but decided against it and just gave out a long, loud sigh before nodding in acknowledgement and relaxed back into his comfy sofa. "I would like you to stop calling me with _that_. Also, aren't you supposed to be reading, or _working_ , or something?"

"Well, I'm free." And he grinned stupidly.

Allen gave Link an apologetic smile, then slam Lavi's head with his own before dragging the wailing and bleeding redhead out of the room. Once they're at the corridor, he sighed and smiled at the older. "Sorry about the chair, again. I was a bit annoyed at how Link has been telling me to start exercising."

"I think he said that because you're pushing it too much." Lavi said. But he retained his light-heartness, so he only eared himself a glare instead of a chair like Link did. "Anyways… I'm just checkin' in on ya. How're you doing?"

"Better than a month ago. And from what Komui-san's telling me, I will be cleared for field works in a few days." He sounded hopeful alright, and very high in spirits, too.

"Good for ya. Also, that Isaac guy isn't really a bad person."

"Really? You two on good terms now?"

"Sorta… I think? Erm, maybe?"

"What the hell is that lame-ass answer, Lavi?"

"I don't know! Hahaha!"

While they laughed and talked, a man in round glasses watched with careful eyes, his hands flexed and extended repeatedly. None of the two saw, nor heard him, as he peered into their bickering, oblivious to the darkness that was looming. He grinned, wide and frightful, before chuckling and walking to the other way, whispering;

"How naïve of you, to think you're safe within these walls."

After that day, Lavi had never seen his grandfather again.

…

For Allen, the one month period was suffocating.

From what Nea had told him, his injuries were not fatal, but crippling. But the man did not let on any more than that, and saying that once he's awake, they will not be meeting again until the Noah became stronger. He had asked Allen that during this time, he must not tell a soul about Nea's true purpose, because it might endangered him greatly. He had agreed to that, and in turn Neah told him he would try to find a way for him to get stronger.

When he woke up, he felt uncharacteristically exhausted. At first, he dismissed the symptoms as post-injury related, since he did get tired all the time when he was badly wounded. But he knew something was wrong when it's a week later and nothing changed. And Lavi, too, had noticed it. Days later he was told by the doctors that one of his lungs were busted by his ribs. He denied it and started rampaging. Of course he would. How could he not? He just found out his fucking ribs killed one of his lungs, and possibly is only chance to get back into the field.

He was desperate. He was in despair. He felt like his world his crumbling all around him and nothing can stop it. And he had screamed, and went on with his raged speech to almost everyone that came close. First was Lavi, who gave him _that sympathy look_. He hated that look so much it hurt. Then there was Lenalee, who tried to console him, like _there's still a way_. She's lying, of course, and they both knew it. She just chose to believe in it, while he chose to stop believing altogether. He cursed god for his own faith, and he cursed all things holy he knew for what had happened to him.

He tried his hardest to make it worked on his own. By pushing himself just a bit harder, he bled, and he ignored it, and he continued. Until he was on the verge of death did he truly stop, then he realized that what he was doing was for nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing but fruitless attempts, and it also caused pain for those around him. His friends were worried sick, the doctors had to work extra to make sure his wounds remained close and uninfected, and Komui had to work double in order to make him calmer.

Then he fell into a pit of despair, where he just curled up in his bed all day, with his spirit half-dead. The only thing that he used to cling on to was Nea's words, a promise he couldn't even tell if it's real or not. But he was wrong to abandon hope, because he forgot to take into account one man who was enough not to throw a towel, even when it's clear he should. Komui, who had quite a bit of medical knowledge and contacts all around the globe, had forged up a plan to let him regain his sense of self. And thus, the rehabilitation began.

The first few days were as treacherous as it goes. He had to put in a lot of effort to not give up half way. It was easier to just lie down and accept defeat, of course, but how could he? Even the idiot General Cross was worried about him (he heard it from Komui, so he was pretty certain it was legit). And so he fought, and fought, until at last his efforts come to fruition.

During this time, Link was surprisingly helpful. He might appear uncaring at times, but in fact he was watching and trying his best to support Allen in his own ways. The younger did appreciate that, although at times Link's words can be quite… discouraging. Right before Lavi came in, he had commented that he was too laid back, and a warrior of god shouldn't be so pitiful… blah blah blah, blah blah blah.

Actually, this is how it was before he tried to throw a chair at Link.

"Walker, why the hell are you still sleeping?"

"Because I was tired?" He had replied lamely, brushing off that tuff of white hair that fell over his eyes. Allen had to use his fingers to pick out the dust and sand in his eyes, and slapped himself twice in an attempt to bring about him wakefulness, which left quite some time ago. "C'mon, Link, I was out for like, I don't know, 4 hours? You don't need to be a dick about it."

"Last time you sleep this long, you were crying and said _fuck my life I'm supposed to be up two hours ago._ " Link said that with the fingers-made bunny ears. He actually looked pretty fucked up there, but Allen decided again saying it out loud. Link's reputation was already ruined by Timothy, he needn't add any more insults to the injury…at least, not now.

"Well, screw you, Link. I need sleep. 30 minutes more!"

"And tolerate you venting out later? No thank you." He quickly denied the request for sleep and threw at Allen a bottle of ink. His left hand, out of pure reflex, caught it and threw it back in an instant. It covered all the papers Link was working on with black liquid and…

"Whoops."

" _Walker._ "

"Come on now, you started it!"

" _WALKER_."

And that's when he had thrown the chair at Lavi, who happened to open the door at that exact same moment. He turned his body by instinct, and thus the trajectory of the furniture was diverted to the unfortunate soul. He then went out to have a chat with Lavi and, as it turned out, he had learned that Isaac – the CROW that _accompanied_ Kanda to Central – wasn't as bad as he looked. He believed Lavi words, and he thought that he want to have a chat with such a man next time.

Then, from within his mind, something stirred. It was Neah, feeling uneasy as he rose from his slumber. Allen had to use all of his mind power to concentrate on Lavi and continued with the talks. He then noticed Neah stiffened, and he was about to ask what when the Noah told him. _"_ _There's something watching us. Be careful. It's powerful, and its intention wasn't pure."_

He gave Neah a solemn nod, and after he went back to sleep, he forgot it.

He, as with the Noah within him, will soon regret not pursuing this further.

...

 ** _THERE YOU GO! Phew... total of 4000++ ish words. :v :v :v_**

 ** _Praise the goddamn sun \ [T] /_**

 ** _You might find some of this very_** ** _familiar_** ** _, that's because I'm hooked up to Dark Souls - even though I have little free time, I still had some for this unforgiving piece of art! You should try it too! The gameplay is superb, and the lore is the best!_**

 ** _Please leave a Review! :D And I'll be seeing ya folks next time!_**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Howdie, folks! Ah, I've been getting too little sleep to actually bother and correct every typos I've made. Sorry a ton for that, but you know, health comes first. Then gaming and writing. Then... studying :p_**

 ** _Anyways, here's a new one!_**

 ** _Chapter Nine: Disappearance_**

A month.

It had been a month since that day where Isaac asked if his grandfather was in, and not a single day in between did he saw the old man.

To be fair, he had a few theories as to how he disappeared. He was well aware that Bookman was trying to keep him safe by prying into the Order's dark secrets himself. He didn't know that Lavi was watching, and carefully he had followed the old man's footsteps to seek the truth. After he had returned from the demon mission, he had told Bookman about the Crest he saw on the Lion and the Fox's rings, and Bookman's face suddenly paled. Of course, he waved it off at first, since almost anything he told him made him paled greatly.

While he was researching the Crusade War to find something about the Order of the Templar to connect some of the dots, he saw his grandfather stole some of the books away. He didn't mention it, but he knew it, and he thought the old man might be as curious as himself if he wished to do all those on his own. Lavi came to realize, much too late, that his carefree attitude towards the old man's works was a grave mistake.

Before he departed, he told Lavi to keep digging about not only the Templars, but also the factions called the Teutonics and Hospitallers, fellow crusader organizations in the Dark Age. He said there might be something that tied these organizations and the Order together. He also instructed Lavi to find out more about the Second Exorcist Project – because Komui had withheld something from him, like some name of the people involved. All they had was a name Alma Karma, and the general disasters that had transpired.

Although he was thinking of leaving that, for now… he had to find the old annoying panda, one way or another. As much as he'd hate to really admit, he cared deeply for Bookman, and his safety is one of Lavi's priorities. He had been asking around, hoping to find some sort of lead as to _how_ and _why_ Bookman had disappeared. He tried from a random person to Komui, and they all told him the same thing: _I have not seen him_.

Allen, who had heard about Isaac, was skeptical and said that the CROWs leader might be hiding something. He agreed, although his keen instinct told him that the man was genuine when he said he didn't know. He even asked the other CROWs, namely Link and Madarao (the most professional guy in the group, he might add), but they knew nothing, either. After he had asked around and exhausted all of his options, he decided to follow the only lead that he had left: Central.

After he returned from a mission (where he had a run in with Road, who did not, in the least bit, seemed as interested in him as she had before), he asked for a short leave from Komui and went to Vatican by himself. He had been given some weird looks from the guards at the Vatican, but he ignored most of it and asked them where to find Isaac – the CROWs. Once he had his location, at the private meeting in the Swiss Guard Captain's quarter, he headed there.

He was being rude, he knew, but this was too urgent for him to really care. He had waited for one month, and still it was way too long. He should have done that _weeks_ ago, days after the old man had disappeared, even. So when he reached the Swiss Guard Captain's office, he intruded after a knock on the door, and of course drew all eyes on him. What he hadn't expected, however, is that he would meet an old friend there.

"…Yuu?"

"Lavi?" The man in question asked back, incredulous. But he quickly regained his composure and turned his body halfway to face him. The frown on Kanda's face deepened slightly, before he addressed the woman beside him while his eyes still looked at Lavi. "…It might actually be a good idea to let him here. It's his grandfather, after all."

Hearing the mention of the panda's name, he rushed in to Kanda and grabbed both the man's shoulder and shook him furiously. The others in the room – he could identify only Isaac by name – were ready to kick him out, but the man on the desk stopped them. "What!? You know what happened!? _Tell me_ , Yuu! What do you know about him!?"

"Calm your ass down, will you?" He said between gritted teeth and chopped Lavi in the middle of the head. Once he was calmed down by the sharp pain (he only realized just then that Kanda had some ridiculous strength), the man who had been missing for six months continue. "We have only speculations. I have been spearheading the investigation concerning his disappearance for a while now. We were just discussing the details."

"Are you sure letting him listen will be a good thing?" The woman, blonde hair and striking green eyes, interjected. She looked at Lavi with clear distrust and skepticism in her eyes. It was the man on the table with is bright red hair and beard that answered the question.

"It's his grandfather, after all." He shrugged. "Although, Kanda, I might need you to leave out a _certain detail_. Are you alright with that?"

"Sure. We can talk about it afterwards." He only replied with a raised brow. He then beckoned Lavi to join the circle. Reluctantly, he did so, and had to use all that he had to refrain himself from bombarding Kanda with questions, such as _where were you all these times? What were you doing? Why are you here?_ He can ask those later.

He looked around. The man with flaming beard must be the Swiss Guard Captain Richard Llyweilun, a British gentleman. To his right were Kanda and the woman; while to his left was Isaac. Behind the CROW was a man with both arms replaced by something that looked like metallic prosthetic. His head was shaved bald and there was a large scar running across the right side of his face and blinded his right eye while his other eye was chocolate brown. He had shabby beard, sand-brown in color. Muscular and gigantic in size, Lavi had assumed him to be the man called Edward Bolthor, a Royal Torturer. The last one was a gloomy man, in his early twenties, with neatly cut black hair and back eyes. He had grown no beard at all, and he reminded him of Kanda a lot.

He was puzzled; why would Kanda be in company of these men (and woman)? From what he knew, Kanda hated Central, and these people are the epitome of what he despised the most. He racked his brain to try to come up with an explanation, and concluded momentarily that it was because the Central ordered him to serve Richard. Well, that did make sense. After all, Bookman told him once what Lvellie had said; _Richard had been eyeing him for a while now_. Elected to remain on their good sides, he bowed deeply.

"Sorry about the intrusion back then. I was careless. The name –"

"It's fine." Kanda interrupted. "Go on, Edward. You were saying?"

The giant man huffed before continuing with his report, paying no mind to the addition at all. "From what I gathered, it seemed two of the guards had seen Bookman accompanied _someone_. They probably had their heads played with, although we'll need to see if it's their memories that were altered, or their loyalties to us."

"Two more Treason trial, huh…" Richard mumbled under his breath. To Lavi's surprise, Kanda showed no sign of concern by the mention of the Treason Trial – infamous for its injustice – at all. "I'll leave that to you, then. Although, did they head for the Archive?"

"Yes, but…" Kanda answered this and, with a glance at Lavi, he continued with a deep frown. "They were heading for the _Royal Archive_."

"The Roy – _What the fuck?_ "

"Yes, that's the same thought I had too, boss." Kanda affirmed, and he handed the man a report in his hand. "They didn't arrive, though. They took a wrong turn and disappeared halfway. Since there were no surveillances after the Royal Archive's entrance, and more than twenty exits, he had the possibility to either _escaped_ on his own or be _taken_ anywhere."

Lavi had to remain silence, or he will be kicked out. So many questions, yet none he could ask. Richard hummed behind his clasped hands. "Well, I'll be damned. The security in this place –"

"– Sucks –" Isaac added. Richard accepted that opinion and continued.

"– And we haven't confirmed his _allegiance_ yet, so –"

"Sorry, but I'll have to intrude here." Lavi raised his hands awkwardly. Upon feeling intense gazes from all around him, he shrunk. He looked at Kanda, who said nothing and expressed even less so. He took the silence in the room as an opportunity to inquire. "We are here to records, and we had made a deal that we will remain until the war ends, with either side's victory, true. But we had also agreed to remain exorcists until that time."

"We have little faith in Bookman Clan, sorry to say," Richard said. And Lavi knew that _sorry_ part was said out of pure courtesy. He felt nothing at all about the old man. Richard then nodded to Kanda. "Please continue."

"Yes," He affirmed, taking a deep breath and threw Lavi a dirty look. "About his loyalty-deal issues, I'll have Edward and Sibrand –" Ah, so that man with black hair and gloomy face was named Sibrand. It sounded familiar "– look into it. There's one thing I should be mentioning, though."

"And what might that be?"

"Erm…" At this, he seemed a little awkward. "Your request for the tickets…"

Richard seemed to want to suffocate the younger at that point. "How does that have _anything_ to do with _anything?_ "

"You remember that the man that'd be sitting next to you was Mr. Frederick Abberline, right?"

"Yes? So?"

"It's changed. Take a look."

So he handed the man some sort of seat mapping – Chopin's Piano Concert, if Lavi saw it right – and upon receiving it, he seemed more than uncomfortable. He shifted slightly in his seat, his blue eyes looking at Kanda, and got little reaction from it (again). He leant back onto his seat, sighing into his hand, and threw the mapping gently onto the table. "You've got to be shitting me. I have to sit next to _that thing?_ "

"Isn't it a good opportunity to find out more, though?" Kanda asked, taking the paper back, folded it three times, and then shoved it in his black vest's inner pocket. He looked at the others, before speaking what seemed to be _the obvious_ to them. "Since it's that guy, he might actually have something to do about all this. I can't use my _authority_ on him, so the best way would be to ask directly."

"…Even if there's little to nothing we can gain?"

"It's our best hope against him," He muttered. "Without _tainting_ yourself."

"Ah…fuck,"

"For that, Boss, I'll have to agree. _Fuck_ ,"

After ten seconds of complete lack of any kind of noises but annoyed grunts and breathings, Richard continued. "Anyone have anything else?"

"I'll make sure all the guards at all the gates are one of my own." Isaac spoke up, his face stern with all the seriousness in the world in it. He seemed angry, both at himself and something else entirely. "And I'll make certain that _everyone_ passing the gates is recorded and recognized. We can't let this kind of thing happened again. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, Isaac," Kanda said, shrugging as he looked at the older. "I was a bit careless, so things got a bit out of hand. Huh. I should've stopped him before he went too deep into all of _these_."

 _What do you mean by that?_ Again, Lavi had to resist the urge to burst out and reminded himself that this privilege of staying here can be lost as easily as it was given. Edward grunted and sounded his opinion. "That's what happened when you are too curious. As the saying goes; _curiosity kills the cat_."

"It's in his nature." The woman said. "After all, he used to be a part of _them_."

"True," Others agreed to that statement with mumbles.

"Then we're finished with Bookman's business," Richard concluded, bringing out new stack of papers and plopped it on his desk. He then looked at Kanda, then Lavi. "Kanda, leave one of your friends here, and take Bookman Junior out. I'll give you ten."

"Thank you, Boss." He said, bowing slightly. He then clapped his hands, and once he pulled it apart, there was this… worm-like creature, with six round blue eyes, plated armor in place of scales, and six, almost flat tails with blade-like tips. It was about the size of a fist, a bit larger maybe, and it looked up from its spot to Kanda.

"Hello."

"Hello." Kanda said, almost laughing at that. The creature floated from where it was and to the woman, resting quite merrily on her head. She looked like she was torn between leaving it be or smacking it in the face. "You don't mind giving reports in my place for a few minutes, right?"

"I don't, not at all." It said, its voice deep and full of authority, yet it was polite and happy-go-merry with the way it talked. "Go on. Your friend did seem like he had a lot to ask."

With a nod in thank you, Kanda pushed Lavi by the shoulder and left the room with him. Once they're outside, Lavi turned to glare at Kanda, who remained nonchalant. How can this man – who he thought was just a simple _tsundere_ – to ignore the way those guys spat on his grandfather's name so calmly? But thinking on it again, maybe he did the right thing. Getting worked up in there might make his life, already hard and unforgiving as it is, to become even more unbearable. With a sigh, he scratched his head.

"I got time for only two questions." Kanda said, holding out two fingers to emphasize his words. His face was as neutral as before, only when Lavi took the circumstances into account, he seemed way too calm. "Choose what you want to know wisely. And some things, I cannot say. _Central's secrets_ ,"

"How are you? They're treating you well? And why haven't you contacted us at all? And what do you know about gramps?"

Of course Lavi would be like this. He never heeded any warnings. He and that old man were _too much alike_. Kanda sighed and pinched at the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed. "Of course you would – _ugh_ , fine. I'm fine, they're ok for agents of Central, and most of what I gathered from investigating the old man's disappearance is _a state secret_."

Lavi was relieved, of course, that Kanda was doing fine. But the way this man dismissed information regarding his grandfather is just… but thinking again, if he said it now, or to him, then the secrets will no longer be safe. After Lavi finished convincing himself that Kanda was doing him a favor, he nodded to himself and faked a smile. "It's been so long, Y –"

"Wipe that smile off your face, Lavi."

The tone of his voice was not imposing. It wasn't even a request, but it wasn't as intimidating as before, where Kanda would scolded him all the time for every single one of his behavior. But the eyes were cold, and it was full of something unexplainable. The Japanese was staring intensely at him, arms crossed – then he saw the ring with Red Cross Pattee on his right ring finger. _So he must know about the Lion and the Fox_. He stopped smiling, as Kanda had commanded, then pointed at the ring. "Yuu, that ring – did you –"

No sooner after his finger beckoned the direction of the ring; Kanda grabbed him by the throat and slammed him to the nearest wall. The people inside complained, and Kanda only replied by slamming him back into the wall one more time. His grip was dangerously tight, and Lavi's feet were lifted off the ground. It was the first real time where Kanda had emitted so much killing intent. The pressure was suffocating him. The Japanese might have said that he will kill Lavi endless times, but this truly is the first where he seemed to be following his own threats.

His brows furrowed, eyes squinted, and he bared his teeth at the red haired. The Junior tried his best to pry Kanda's finger loosed, to no avail, and when he thought he would collapse from the lack of oxygen, the man let him go. He fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air. The Japanese crouched down, his eyes at the same level as Lavi's, and he said. "You've stayed for too long now. Leave, or we will force you out."

"Do you necessarily need to _do this?_ " He practically snarled back. Kanda only started, his face voided of any emotions. "Yuu, even by your standards, _this_ is too far! What the fuck –"

"I'm myself, and nothing is wrong with me." Kanda interjected, scoffing as he went. He then grabbed Lavi by the collar and pulled him closer. "One, you've overstayed your welcome. Second, if you still value your life, stop snooping around. Some things, Lavi, aren't meant to be discovered, whether you're a king or a beggar. Leave the matter to _us_ , and let it go. Don't pursue _any leads_ any further."

"The fuck are you saying, Yuu!?" He was furious, and he was lashing out. Nothing he heard made sense. Kanda's sudden, unreasonable actions made no sense. The old man's kidnapping made no sense. _Nothing! Nothing made sense at all!_ "This is full of bullshit! Everything! Why the fuck do you have that ring? Why did you seem to be on so good a term with _them_? What the hell do you mean by everything you say in that room? And do you think you're so high and mighty you can start ordering me around now? Huh? _Huh?_ "

There were so many questions. They way Kanda was behaving, too, somehow angered him. The Japanese usually was not this detached and he never acted without reason, proper or no, and even in his bad mood he would still care for his _friends_ , even if he denied it. This is not him. Everything is not him. Nothing's right here, and he was angry at Kanda for being an ass and shushing him away from investigations involving his gramps. Even the Cardinals let him stay if anything's concerned with the old man.

"Lavi…"

He trailed off, and the next thing Lavi knew, he was doubling over, with Kanda's fist on his solar plexus – upper stomach.

"Shut up. Or _we_ will have to kill you, too."

 _"_ _Too?"_ Even when he's out of breath, he managed. His anger was swelling at an alarming rate, and Lavi cared not a single bit to try and stop it. "What do you mean? So now you kill humans on their commands now? You kill all who stood in your way, is that it? So did you kill gramps, too?"

"To answer all of your questions," Kanda said, punching the same spot one more time, putting Lavi on his knees with his head resting painfully on the carpeted floor. "Yes, I kill on their commands. They're my bosses, after all. And all that stood in our way; we'll have their heads, humans or demons. Your grandfather was on one of the watch list. But no, we have nothing to do with his disappearance. It concerns us, as it concerns you."

Lavi was not able to reply at this point, for he was still coughing furiously and unable to breath properly from the impact of Kanda's punches earlier. His single green eye looked up to see the unfathomable depths behind Kanda's dark ones. The way he was looking down on the redhead, and the way his posture was imposing, told Lavi that he had already become a loyal dog for Central. He couldn't figure out the reason behind it, no matter how much he tried. Shouldn't Yuu supposed to be antagonistic to them?

And then he felt himself being pulled up by the arms, and when he looked to his sides he saw two CROW members dragging him off the floor. Both of them regarded Kanda with a respectful bow, and one of them spoke. "Should we get rid of him?"

Kanda shook his head. "Too much. Just kick him back to where he come from, and stop him from coming here altogether until further notice. His brain still contains some information even we don't know of, and since Bookman had all but disappeared without a trace, we'll need to keep him alive a bit longer."

"Understood."

Lavi then lost his cool completely, and started shouting at Kanda. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Yuu!? You've changed, and for the worse! I thought you were a friend! If you do this, then you're _my_ enemy! Tell me all you know about my gramps! Tell me! _I deserve to know!_ "

Kanda only gave him a glare. "Friends? Please, Lavi, you should know better than that. You people have never been on my friend lists."

And with a boot to his head, Lavi was out cold.

…..

To be fair, the Earl was more than uncomfortable.

Truth be told, he had never once encounter any accommodator strong enough to repel his greatsword with their own fleshes, Beyond Critical synchronization or no. Even Cross Marian, who he viewed as the greatest threats to his family's existence, had to stay on guard when fighting against him without the Earl using his real form. But this man, Kanda Yuu… He was planning to use Alma Karma's memories to turn that man against Allen Walker and bring out the Fourteenth, whose existence was made known to him by a spy ring he had planted into the Order.

Speaking of Kanda Yuu – he had previously thought that the man hated the Order as much as he hated the Noah, and he thought his abilities were only _on par_ with the Generals, not _more_. How his power rose up so suddenly within such a limited amount of time, he hadn't known, but he had to know it, one way or another. Such a rise of power was certainly a bane of his and his plan's existences. That man, whatever he had done, was something beyond his vast knowledge… it means that there's much he doesn't know.

And to be frank, it frightened him quite so.

Aside from that, there was one thing that made him curious; the Puppeteer that the man spoke of. It was a name familiar, yet distant. Wisely, who had woken up a few weeks ago, speculated that either Kanda Yuu lied to fool him into wasting his time, or was genuinely giving him a hint. A hint to what, he didn't know, and even though the possibility of this being a huge, fat lie is ten times greater than the latter, he couldn't risk ignoring it. If he knew something – _anything_ – about this _Puppeteer_ , he might be able to explain something.

So he, along with Wisely and Tyki and Road, worked in secret from the other Noahs, because he couldn't waste too much time and manpower on this matter. Even though his intelligence is low, Tyki could use is charm to mow his way through the lies that would shadow this Puppeteer, while Wisely was an obvious choice. If you want to investigate something, mind-reader would always come to mind first. And then Road, for she could traverse space itself with ease, thus making the jumps from places to places – if required – less time-consuming and less likely to be detected.

After they were dispatched, his Communication Crystal – something he had invented long ago – buzzed, and from it was the voice of one of his newly recruited broker, a Cardinal no less. His recruitment was indeed a great boon to the Earl. There was a slight pause, then, _"Good evening, Earl. I'm sorry to bother you at this hour."_

"No problem at all!" He sounded way too happy, but that's how he turned his _I'm-a-happy-gentleman-with-no-ill-intend_ self on. "It's been quite some time since you contacted me – Peter, was it? – I was hoping the compensation I gave you a week earlier was more than enough."

 _"_ _It is adequate, Earl. Thank you for your generosity."_ He sounded humble, and the way he spoke, he seemed at least half-grateful, not unlike some fools who had been fed to the Akumas earlier.

"So," The Earl said, and halted Sheryl who had just came in and was about to interrupt with a hand rose up. "How are things? Is there something new you would like me to know?"

 _"_ _Ah, certainly, certainly!"_ The man chimed. _"I must admit, I'm quite surprised when I learn Allen Walker was half-incapacitate by a giant Akuma."_

"Oh?" The Millennium Earl was surprised, as well. There were no reports of anything incapacitating anyone for quite a while. "What Akuma?"

 _"_ _In Extreme North Russia_ , _at a village in Krasnoyarsk Krai, about 30-40 miles north from Norilsk. The battled this – excerpted from the report – "A beast more than seven meters tall, with four horns and eyes, wielding a giant hammer and fire breaths. It almost killed all of the exorcists presented there, but was stopped by "A man in golden Lion armor, and a woman with Fox mask"."_

He thought on it. He knew every creations under his command, but none strike resemblances to the thing that was described. Perhaps it was an Akuma that had evolved beyond the limit on its own? And the location – that was the fortress he used to use as a base a hundred years ago, until a man _in golden Lion armor_ destroyed it. "Do you, by chance, know anything of these two mysterious figures that appeared?"

 _"_ _I thought you do, sir. I'm sorry, but I don't have a clue who they were."_

"I see." He mused. "So, is Allen Walker out of the picture?"

 _"_ _Unfortunately, no."_ The other replied tersely. _"Komui Lee – that bastard pulled off the impossible again. This time he concocted a physical therapy course for that boy, and as it turns out, Allen Walker can fight."_

"He has become a nauseous, hasn't he now?" He muttered, and then a dark smile crept across his face. He knew just what he needed to do. With a spy ring there, he could order one – hm, quite a thought this was. He decided to let the three Noah investigated about the Puppeteer for now. By doing this, he might be able to anger Kanda and let him spill out all of his secrets. "Then I have a request for you, Cardinal."

 _"_ _Anything, my lord."_

"Please issue and order for our men to assassinate Komui Lee."

 ** _..._**

 ** _To be fair, I don't think I can manage the next month while posting chapters weekly, so I must apologize and made the update less frequent until I get off this fucking loophole of shits called "The far-away planets" :p_**

 ** _It's called that because you became 99 percent less aware of the whole world for a month on it. Duh-huh :p_**

 ** _Anyhoos, Cya later, mates :D_**

 ** _Please Drop a Review for me! Any criticism is accepted as well! :D_**


	10. Chapter 10

**_Hola! One last drop before I disappeared. God, I just got down from being, say, "working by the college's schedule" from 6 am to 6 am, and I'm dead tired_**

 ** _Anyways, I found it in me to write this before I went back to sleep :D_**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

 ** _..._**

 ** _Chapter Ten: Crucifixion_**

Kanda was, indeed, a thinker.

Denying that all you might, he actually had a head for strategy-forming mid-battle. He adopted it out of the warzone too, and he learned – from various opportunities that presented themselves over the course of many years – that he liked to play chess. Shogi (Japanese Chess), Western Chess, Gou, and all sorts of board plays that required complex and two-steps-ahead thinking were his favorite pastimes, when his blade wasn't needed elsewhere.

Kanda was sitting with both his legs crossed, left hand slapping on his knee while his right touched at his chin in a thinking manner. The one opposite from him was Clara, who had her hands clasped together and her head resting atop of it. The Japanese frowned slightly, and then picked up the Rook with his index and middle fingers. He swayed the piece back and forth for a while, before settling it beside a white pawn.

"Ow, _come on!_ " The blonde practically threw tantrums. She fumed, muttering a lot of nonsense as she rubbed her forehead with her knuckle. Kanda let out a soft chuckle as he turned to the side and grabbed a red apple, biting on it as he waited for his opponent's turn. She swayed, from side to side, her face that of a woman who was on period and was having a bad time. Her brows furrowed together, and her hair was messy from all her hair-pulling.

"Calm down now," Kanda said in amusement as he took another bit. He then pointed at the board. "You don't always get your opponents to move as you pleased. Try to think of more than one strategy next time."

"I thought of _seven_ ," She emphasized, almost throwing the black pieces that she had eliminated from him into his smug face. "And you moved in a way I _did not_ expect you to! Jaysus Christ, Kanda, playing with you is –"

"Fun?"

"– like playing with – _Ah fuck, forget it_." She groaned and slammed the left side of her head to the nearby window. Edward, who was quietly sitting in the far-side corner and enjoying his Cuban Cigar, gave her a curious look and then shifted his gaze to Kanda, who offered him with a shrug. "Well… I might need to – _nah_ , that wouldn't work. What about – _dammit_ now I want to kill you for moving that Rook. Urgh!"

He only smiled as she ranted on. She might not want to admit it, but playing against someone who could outsmart her from time to time is enjoyable, to put it lightly. They've beaten each other back and forth for as long as Kanda could remember, and both of them would react differently. She would throw a fit or two and mumble stupid shits while playing, while he would frown deeply and then almost – _almost!_ – flip the table over. It was fun.

As he waited for her to make the next move, his left hand left its place and went for a pack of cigarette sitting nearby. He fisted it hard enough for one of the stick to pop out of the pack, and dragged it all the way out with his teeth. He then stuffed the pack into his shirt's pocket and reached for the golden lighter that was put on the coffee table near his seat. But this time, something strange happened; Kanda already had the lighter in hand, but it fell off.

Edward was nonchalant to this, but the thinking Clara noticed it. She looked up as the Commander stared dumbly at his hand, which was slightly shaken as if exposed to freezing wind. He clenched that hand into a fist and sighed before he bowed down to pick up the item he dropped. Clara, worried about his wellbeing, asked with a concerned voice. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine," The way he spoke, with repeated assurance, and the hurriedness of his voice was a dead giveaway. He was not fine, not in the least bit. He hadn't realized that he was putting in too much force until his palm bled and droplets of blood hit the chess board. He was startled at bit when Clara consciously coughed at him. He said; "Ah, I'm sorry. Probably using my arm to block the Earl's attack wasn't a good idea, after all."

"Blocking the Earl bare-handed, huh…" That might have explained it under normal circumstances, but knowing Kanda, there was no way that any damage would linger for longer than hours. His healing powers were amplified by Mugen, which harbored _twelve_ different beings of epic proportions in it. She knew there was something wrong. During the two months that Allen Walker used to recover and the time after that Bookman disappeared, Kanda was injured during one of the missions. She idly wondered who it was the older was fighting against.

She was brought back to reality when a puff of foul-smelling smoke hit her sensitive nose. Swatting her hands madly, she frowned at the man before her, who had all but resumed his normal posture. He raised an eyebrow against her questioning glare. "You were purposefully delayed the game."

"I know that. But you –" Kanda puffed at her another ball of smoke. At this, she coughed for about two minutes straight, and earned herself a shush from the occupied Edward. She threw him a dirty look before snarling at Kanda. " _I was fucking talking!_ Dammit, Kanda! No wonder why I hate you so much."

"Come on now," He said with a smile on his face, and opened his arms as if welcoming her for a hug. "You love me."

"I don't."

"Don't be shy now, Clara. I know you do. This big brother never disappoints you one bit; or, did I, now?" Now he's truly becoming a pain in the ass. He always did this – toying with her head and provoking her. She hates him so much that she wants to throw him to the hounds. But well… he's still a big brother with a weird-ass way of thinking and a fuckton of problem behind him.

" _Shut up, you idiot."_

"Hahaha! That sentence and that tone suits you! Do it more often, would you?" He teased, moving a piece and, yet again, blocking the path she had perfectly planned.

As it turned out, Kanda was also good at changing the subjects.

It comes naturally to him, the art of pissing off someone. He always seems to know how to push their specific buttons. And most people – if not all – will forget what was previously said when they are ticked off. He smiled to himself when Clara forgot it, throwing another tantrum at his random move of the chess piece, and when back to thinking of another way to counter him. The giant executioner didn't seem to notice the change, or was simply ignoring it, so he left it there.

He then stared at his hand. The latest mission, about two weeks ago, net him two good unsealing wounds, one from his left shoulder down to the left side of his abdomen. It still stung, even now, and the other was also a long wound, given to him by a sword piercing his left palm and was _dragged_ all the way to his elbow. His left arm became useless for a full week, and even now, it had yet to fully recover. At first he thought nothing of it, but…

…with each passing day, the pain seemed to be more prominent.

This happened before, in the previous timeline, where he fought against the same entity – which used a different _body_ at that time – and sported the same wound that didn't heal. He supposed he'll have to give it some time for it to fully heal, though. But the pain, although constant, wasn't crippling enough, and he can dull it by _freezing_ his own sensory nerves. That aside, there's not much going on the deserves anyone's attention, really.

She moved the Bishop and prevented his Castle from taking out the remaining Rook on the other side of the board. He had frowned and made a stupidly annoyed grunt. She laughed and grinned at him. "Gotcha!"

He snapped another Rook in his possession and blocked her path, making her fume yet again. "By the way, I heard the exorcists met some of the Black Knights. Is that true?"

"General Cross and General Nine, yes." She replied, picking up a pawn and swung it in the air, undecided of which pieces she should eliminated, between the left and the right pawn. She decided against it and moved forward, face-to-face with Kanda's Bishop. "The Knight fled before it could harm them, but they're sorely made aware of their weaknesses, now."

"I see." Kanda muttered, using his pawn to get rid of that stupid piece. "We don't want anyone dying now, so please order a lookout that can intercept and let them escape alive."

"Will do," She nodded, moving her Bishop yet again, and got him into some serious situation. "Yes! I told you, this game's _mine!"_

"Yeah, yeah, keep on braggin'." He muttered, rubbing his chin so repeatedly his skin might have fallen off. After three exact minutes, where the girl had hummed happily and Edward still smoking his damnable cigar, Kanda made a move, blocking the Bishop's path with one of his Rook and forced her into a tough decision – she had to take out that Rook, or she lost her Castle – but if she did so, she'll lost her Rook and, if played out incorrectly, her Queen.

"OH my _GOD_ you piece of – _Urgh!_." This time she flipped the air, in the same manner she would to the board. Clara then cursed him in seven different languages and fifty distinct dialects. He could only laugh at how untamed anger could cause her to say so many colorful words. After a while, seeing that playing any further would mean imminent defeat, she threw her hands up in the air. "That's it, I _give up!"_

"So the scores now is you 74 to me 83." He said, scribbling the number of rounds played until her defeat beside the scores, growing more and more into his favor. She muttered incoherently as she picked off the pieces. He was surprised when she started rearranging it. "What are you doing?"

"Another round. My pride commands it!"

"Neat," He clicked his tongue then smiled. This was becoming quite a good pastime, indeed. "So then, who's going first this time?"

"You, since –"

"May I interrupt both of you, sir, ma'am?"

The newcomer, a Swiss Guard, entered the room and said respectfully to both of them. Upon seeing Edward, he bowed apologetically, in which the Royal Executioner replied by waving his hands dismissively. Kanda straightened up while Clara stopped what she was doing altogether. They exchanged a look before Kanda decided to speak. "It's fine. Is there something urgent?"

"It's not urgent, but," At this, the atmosphere became awkward. It seemed as if whatever had happened was bad. Not an emergency, but bad. "You need to see it for yourself, sir."

"Where?" He inquired, rising up from his seat and stopped Clara, giving her a certain look that he'll take care of it.

"The Black Order, sir."

…..

Lavi had told almost everyone he was close to about Kanda's involvement in his grandfather's case and, surprisingly enough, they were _very_ angry.

Komui, who had known everything about that man for a long time, seemed to think that being in Central for too long reshaped him into a son-of-a-bitch that he never was. Lenalee was angry at him. Before this, it seemed he used to help her in every way he could, so this changes it all. Allen was hell bent on beating the shit out of the idiot. General Tiedoll thought that Kanda, even though he never would really admit, was considerate to a certain degree. For him to disregard his comrades so easily meant he's changed.

However, they also thought that bringing him back into what he was before might be possible. But that would involve defying the Central itself, and making both the Pope and the Swiss Guards their foes are just not possible; the Pope provided them with funds and personnel, while Swiss Guards had control of the most powerful unit as a whole: CROWs. Doing anything rash might – no, _will_ – result in all of their deaths. Lavi only frowned at this; from the short conversations he had with Kanda, he was positive that man no longer cared for anyone. He had a knack for reading a human's true feelings – he was trained _specifically_ for it – and he just _knew_ Kanda is an _enemy_.

An enemy that must be destroyed or he will destroy them all.

But Lavi kept quiet about it. If he said another word without solid evidences to show them that Kanda was indeed a dangerous presence, he will only earn himself a scold or more. Aside from the matter with Kanda, he still had the things about his grandfather, who was not heard or seen even by the agents of Central itself, to worry about. He had consulted Komui and Bak – who, yet again, visited HQ for no good reason – about it, and they all answered like any other ones would; they had no idea.

Without much choices, he had to move in secrets and lived the day along with that. Then another thing comes up; a new type of enemy.

Beside from the giant with the hammer they fought about two months ago, General Cross and Nine encountered a humanoid beast in black knight armor, with its left arm covered in blood red crystals that can shape-shifted at will, and it was by far as strong as the Earl is. At this, Cross seemed more or less annoyed by a new enemy he didn't know of, and Cloud… well, she remained as calm and as indifferent as she used to be.

They said it could talk, and that from what it's said, it was safe to imply that there are more than just one of the same type, each with different faces and preferences. Their weapons seemed to be made of steel that was used for the Akumas' shells, as well. Cross said the one Knight they fought could see through Maria's Curtain, and could outmatch Lau Jimin in term of strength, and was able to keep up with its speed. Its shield, black like charred bone and stronger than any metal, can withstood Judgement's bullets – said by Cross himself to be unstoppable – and stopped them in their tracks.

They hold a meeting, where the contents would be written and sent to Kanda at a later date while the rest of them listened. As it turned out, Central was pretty desperate, and ordered that in each mission would have to consist of one General or an equivalent to combat the unknown if the need arose. Allen was at that level, but he now only had one lung, so he must be accompanied by at least one more combat-oriented exorcist in each mission.

Once that was established, Lvellie – as the spokesperson of Central – declared that each team will have to be accompanied by a CROW to help out as much as possible, since Cross had reported that the CROW's spell tags, unlike against normal Akumas, are exceptionally effective against this new enemy. Link was always with Allen, so there's no problem there, but the CROWs who had as good a talent as Two-Dots were few – namely, the Thirds – and so the number of team deployed at any given moments were limited to six.

But they had only four active Generals, and one equivalent (and Allen too had noted that he was much weaker than the four, who had official title). Central, however, had said that they could use three exorcists to substitute for a presence of a General instead. They had not given any further instructions regarding this matter, so Lvellie moved on to the next; the Earl.

Lately, the Earl seemed to act a bit less and hiding more. No Noahs, not even the ever playful Tyki, was spotted during these two months after the giant with a big hammer incident (Lavi knew the naming was lame, but _fuck it_ ). Very few Akumas patrols were seen as well, and most of them seemed to ignore all major Black Order's settlements. From what they had gathered by means of observation and asking around, the Akumas seemed to be keeping mostly to themselves and went into the wilds. The numbers of casualties remained the same, but most of them had little evidences to point at the Akumas.

Something weird is going on, Lavi just knew it.

Since many things went to the weird side, they needed to train as much as possible. So once a day they had this tournament, where every person in the Order, exorcists or no, can compete. There's a hefty prize pool too, and about ten or so percent will be shared with the winner. He had no idea where that money came from, but they never lack once during the two weeks this tournament had held. And that money, they can buy just about anything they wanted in London, too. Although some days there are only 10 pounds in the pool, others were 2000 or more. So yeah, it's basically a horse race.

Currently, 10pm in their day off, he was sparring with Allen who, despite having a crippling injury, still held his ground very well. Lavi stepped back, bitch-slapping him as he went, but Allen did not faze. Instead he advanced forward, punching Lavi in the face once, and the rest was blocked by his arms. He took one last step back before ducking down and aimed for the white-haired's stomach, only for him to back away more when the boy brought his knee up. It missed his face by only an inch, and that devious look…

"You did _that_ on purpose, Allen!?" Lavi practically cried. His answer was in a form of summersault drop-kick, which would cause him some serious and probably lethal concussion. He paled and pointed at Allen. "Come on, man! What did I do to get you so angry?"

"You _bitch-slapped_ me, Lavi." He was smiling, true, but it was so off. And the way he's cracking his fists as he said that did not help. At all.

"It's a spar! That's supposed to happen!"

"I'm not angry, Lavi. Just annoyed."

He attempted to murder Lavi again by throwing his leg over Lavi's neck, hooking his knee around and spun, trying to trap the taller in a vice leg-grip. He broke free just in time, and his eye didn't lie; there was these certain ways of his muscles' movements – and it was akin to those he used when he was about to break an Akuma's spine. Chills ran down his spine, and he instinctively reached for his neck. "My god, Allen, did you just – _you did! You –"_

"I what?" He said with an oh-so-innocent smile.

"Dammit, Beansprout, you're _supah scary!_ "

" _The name,_ " He gritted out, that innocent smile suddenly turned murderous. He could see Cross, who was watching from afar, trying to suppress the urge to walk away and hide somewhere. Lenalee only laughed at the display, and General Zokalo's ears perked before he became fully awake and had every ounce of his attention on them. Lavi backed away, and he _just_ knew his doom was impending. _"Is ALLEN!"_

"$(*# &)*)*%(*&$# !#(*%) %!"

After ten minutes, of which he was beaten almost to death by the one lung exorcist, and three cardiac arrests later, he was sitting beside the man who almost became his demise, watching Cross sparred with Nine. Allen handed him a pack of ice, which he reluctantly (and jumpily, since he handed it to him with _that smile_ , again) accepted, and slapped it on his bruised cheek. No matter how you look at it, Allen is even more demonic than Kanda.

"I'm terribly sorry, Lavi." Allen said with a sheepish smile, scratching his head and looking away from him. Lavi gave the younger a _I-don't-believe-in-any-of-your-shit_ look, in which made the white-haired sunk even further. "It's not that I've changed or anything… I guess it's stressed, coupled with you bitch-slap me _twice_ and called me _Beansprout_."

"That's still _not_ an excuse to attempt murder someone, you know." He wailed and pointed at his face. "And look what you've done to my handsome face!"

"Handsome? Pfft." That certain laughter, though.

" _You dare object me?_ "

"Yes, I dare, Lavi."

"You're so much closer to Yuu than I realized, you know."

"The hell I am!" At this, Allen was obviously ticked off. And he lost his cool, yet again, at the mention of a name Lavi hated so much. But being a Bookman (Apprentice, But still!) means he could fake his facial expression as easily as looking at his own hand. He'll have to wait for the opportunity to really expose Kanda's true color. And he was brought back to present when Allen suddenly let loose a dangerous murderous intent.

"Oh my god _oh my god I'm sorrrrryyyyyyyyyy!_ " He scooted back and cried, his face contorted in terror as his hands swung wildly and try to find someone that can help him. His hands ended up on something soft, though, and when he looked at it – "Oh god _Lenalee_ , I'm sorry! I didn't –"

He was slapped and spun into Cross' foot. The General only looked at him for so long before kicking him back to wench he came. He landed face-first at the feet of the woman with a strength of ten men (don't tell her this, though, or she'll have his head for sure) and the same one who, unintended or no, almost broke his cheekbone. She looked like she'd committed terrible crime, and had her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry, Lavi. That was – it's reflex. Are you ok?"

"Erm… nope?" He answered truthfully, getting up and leant on the wall of the training ground. Rubbing his still sour cheek, he waved his hand from side to side and said, "It's fine, it's really not that bad. Your arm strength, though."

"I've been getting that a lot, too." She admitted, looking off to the side with an expression mixed with annoyance and acceptance. "Well, anyways, you did quite a job beating him to a pulp, Allen-kun."

"Unintentional as it may be, I'll still accept that compliment. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

All their peaceful banter came to a close when all eyes locked on a Finder, who had run to them and out of breath. He was no less than horrified, his face paled and hairs messy, sweat sticking a few strands to his face. He hunched down, and upon recovering his breaths, Cross was the first to strike him with a question. "What's the matter? Something stuck in your noggin'?"

"No, sir –" And in that split second, he looked at Lavi, his eyes were –

 _Oh god._

"What is it?" Komui, who had been there the whole time, finally asked. He too had seemed to notice the gaze directed at Lavi in particular. But he chose not to mention it just yet.

"The canteen, sir – you need, you need to go see for yourself."

With that, Lavi left faster than he had in years.

…

Outside of the cafeteria was brimming with people, whose chatter died down upon him, Allen, Lenalee and Komui approached. When they made it through the thick crowd, Lavi was greeted by someone he liked to see the least. No. Correction; a man he wanted to see _dead_ the most right now.

"Kanda-kun?" Komui was the first to call out that name. The man in question whipped his head to see the Supervisor, but did not stop talking to the gold-haired woman beside him. He had his arms crossed, his right hand rubbing his chin repeatedly. Once he was done, Komui was half-smiling half-crying and went straight to him. "You're alive!"

As Lavi had suspected, he didn't care in the least bit about what Komui or the others thought, and dismissed the gestures completely. He only gave them a cold look, and then grinned at Lavi, who was already boiling by his presence alone. "Hello there, _Lavi._ How fare your face?"

"I'm fine, you _prick_." He gnarled out, earning himself a look from Allen. Komui then got himself a serious expression. Lavi only spared a glance around and asked, only half-heartedly expected an answer. "Why are you here?"

"Why are _you_ here?" He asked back, eyes twitching. But never once during their short conversation did his smile falter. "This is Central business, you know. Get lost, or we'll throw you out."

"Kanda –!" Allen started, but he was cut off by the CROW with greyed out hair – Isaac. He only regarded Allen with a slight bow and Lavi with a smile before he went straight for the Japanese.

Kanda nodded, acknowledging him. "Isaac. Anything new?"

"No. It's almost 11pm now, so no witnesses. And judging from the possible windows of operations, I don't think we're dealing with just traitors." He reported with eyes squinted. Isaac spared a glance at Lavi before continuing, "So we have _four_ main suspects. Where do you want to start?"

"The one that offers the least resistance, of course," Kanda had replied, but he then frowned and reconstructed his order. "No, wait. That came out wrong. Start from within to without. I'll conduct the later myself."

Then, Kanda threw a look at Lavi, who seemed more or less agitated by the continuous looks he was being given from everyone around him. Those who had newly arrived had by this point noticed the bias, and it was the man who was subjected to the various gazes that spoke up. "Hold it right there. What the hell, man? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Kanda, seemingly ignoring his question at first, turned his face to the opposite direction. When Lavi was about to object, he shouted into the group of people near the entrance of the cafeteria. "Oi, Dave!"

A man, tall and had his lower face burnt, leaving only a hole that was once a nose, and two rows of lipless teeth, peeked out form the crowd to look at him. Despite the intimidating look of his face, he was calm and not as imposing as he seemed. "What?"

"Are they permitted?"

He raised his black eyebrows and returned to his previous spot. A minute passed before he popped out again with a thumb up. "Yes!"

With a sigh, Kanda shook his head and look at Lavi, neutrality taking place of hostility he previously wield. He then turned his attention to Komui, who shifted from side to side uncontrollably.

"What is it? Can you share your secrets now?" Lavi said, unable to hold it out that much longer.

"Lavi, don't be rude!" Lenalee slapped him in the arm.

Kanda seemed reluctant, and he had shared the same look as the woman behind him and the CROW beside him. The others, a lot of Central agents and a few of the Order's, moved to the side as he finally gathered enough of what Lavi would call courage before speaking. "You're allowed to pass. But I'll have to warn you one thing."

Lavi raised an eyebrow in challenge, and said, "What now?"

"You won't like what you see."

There was this certain way his voice sounded, his eyes looked, and how the surrounding atmosphere felt that made Lavi's heart dropped to his feet. Of course, after those words, he had had a terrible hunch and a twist of his guts. And his hunches never missed. Still, his heart – something he shouldn't have – beat in defiance. He didn't want to admit that his instinct was right, because if it was – _when_ it was…

The scene before him caused his knees to weaken.

In the cafeteria, there were little signs of fighting. No damage at all. And from the ground were three or four chains, bloodied and rust-covered, that were transfixed, and the same with the ceilings and the pillars to the side, making it looked like a makeshift Cross. Blood trickled down from the chains and pooled at the bottom, trails slowing making its way to the stunned Lavi.

And in the middle of it all was a body, mutilated almost beyond recognition, with the chains form the ceiling binding at the neck, arms spreads and were pegged to the chains by steel nails, and both legs were bound together with the metal strings, dragging it down.

He could still remember that face, even if it were swollen and bloodied, with both eyes gouged out and neck slit, tongue dragged outside of his throat and turned into a Russian bow tie, a method of execution used to intimidate others from different countries by the Russian mobs. There were still traces of terror on that paled, bloodstained face. And, uncontrollably, he lamented.

Bookman was dead, and he was crucified at the very heart of the Order.

...

 ** _So, how was it? Like it, hate it? Lemme know :D_**

 ** _PS. As Thus, the 2 week-or-more-per-update will commence, and it should terminate around mid-_** ** _June_** **** ** _:)_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_THANK GOODNESS I'M STILL ALIVE_**

 ** _*sigh* anyways, it's taking a lot of my HP trying to stay awake. I literally fell asleep while standing, just then. Almost over, only one more week before I took the god-forsaken exam! :D_**

 ** _Here's your chaps, folks, hope you like it!_**

 ** _PS. === WATCH OUT FOR THE GLORIOUS_** ** _TYPOS_** **** ** _THAT HAD YET TO BE FIXED._**

 ** _..._**

 ** _Chapter Eleven: The Old Lies_**

He didn't really know why he hated Kanda so much.

But these last few months, he had quite a lot of emotional trauma. And to be frank, his last dealings with Kanda told him something, not through words, but through actions, repeatedly over the course of oh-so-short encounter. The Bookman Clan prided themselves in rationality and their detached lookouts of the world. He had been doing so for almost all of his lives, and that one bit where he met Kanda was no different.

But as he observed their conversations, he saw something different. The air seemed thick; the aura around each one in the room dark, and after that, the way Kanda dealt with him was just _not like Kanda_ , at all. He refused to jump into sudden, unexplained conclusion at first, but he somehow _knew_ that man is an _enemy_. His completely cold gaze upon saying that killing is a necessity, for one, repulsed him. But that wasn't the entire reason.

He somehow developed a hatred for the man. Lavi had absolutely no shit idea why, but he theorized in the back of his mind that his emotions had not been in good control after gramps' disappearance. And now, his death – he is dead, up for the entire world to see, and he was breaking apart. He cried his heart out, cursing everyone, and then his memories reeled back to one exact moment that Kanda said something –

Did he?

Lavi didn't know, and Lavi didn't care anymore. He was _angry as fuck_ , and he was lost. There were these strange _feelings_ welling up in his chest? Why was he unable to remain calm? And that anger was directed to only one man, too. When he thought logically about it, there was literally _no_ reason for him to think of Kanda as an enemy. He might have refused to help, true, but that wasn't the entirety of the story, was it?

Then why? Why was he losing control?

God, he had little left in the world now, didn't he?

…..

The first thing Komui noticed was the way he stood.

He understood why Lavi was so angered by Kanda's stances, and the way he acted so distant, but he also noticed how it took much of Kanda's unmatched concentration to keep his facet on. As Lavi wailed at the sight of his mentor and only family member, Kanda was there, watching from the shadows, with his eyes dark and arms crossed. Komui could see the man frowning slightly as he observed, before returning to how he was a moment prior.

When Bookman's body was finally brought down from the grim cross made from blood and chains, Kanda was the first to approach. Lavi was not in his right mind then, and Komui couldn't blame him for getting in the Japanese's way, pointing his activated Innocence at him threateningly. His only eye was wet and reddened from the crying, but he still maintained his boiling fury as he spoke. "Don't come any closer, you son of a bitch!"

At that, things seemed to move very quickly. The exorcists were stunned into place, Komui could only gape, and two of Kanda's peers moved quicker than Lavi's eye could track. The man without lips came in from behind and popped his shoulder off its socket, while Isaac bound his legs and toppled him over. The lipless man then pinned him to the ground, eyes as neutral as they could be. Lavi struggled a while longer before he was halted by a sharp edge of a dark dagger to his throat.

Pulling his black scarf to cover from his nose down, the lipless man said with his voice low and dangerous. "You're lucky we're ordered not to kill any of you by Master Richard himself. If not so, you might've just died, right here."

Lavi stilled, holding his breath and relaxed his arms and legs. Those cold eyes, staring at the back of his head, made him shivered. After a tense moment, the lipless man sighed and cautiously lowered the strength he used to pin the red-haired. It was due to his training that he could read the atmosphere perfectly, that he chose to slowly shaking himself off the grasps of these men instead of rushing to his feet and put up more resistance. If such was the case, the worst that _will_ happen will be his beatdown.

The lipless man straightened his overcoat with one swift tug to each side of the coat. He then turned to Kanda, who had crouched down beside the corpse and inspecting it with one hand gloved, the other casually spinning the still burning cigarette. The lipless man bowed once. "I apologize for my behavior, Kanda-san. There's no excuse for such vulgar conduct of mine."

Kanda only waved before putting the cigarette's light out with Bookman's still oozing blood. Lavi was angered by this, of course, but the sting in his shoulder remained him that stupid moves will not be tolerated. The Japanese's eyes lingered on the battered body a while longer before finally speaking. "It's fine, David. It's instinct." He then shrugged. "Happens all the time,"

"Thank you kindly." He lowered his head before throwing Lavi a dirty look. The lipless man then turned towards Komui, who looked most uncomfortable in the area, and offered him a hand. "We'll be contacting with you for some time, so I might as well introduce myself here. My name is David. David Black."

He blinked stupidly at the offered hand before nodding furiously and took the hand with his own, shaking it once firmly. "Komui Lee. What do you mean by "We'll be contacting you for some time"? Are you joining in the investigation, or something of the like?"

"Joining?" This time it's the woman beside Kanda who said incredulously. She looked protective, and from Komui's judgment, she must have been listening and watching since the beginning, too. He also noticed the way she almost crumpled the stack of papers in her arms. "No, Supervisor. We're _controlling_ this investigation. You will provide us information and resources we need."

Before he could reply, he heard Kanda using his left, non-gloved hand to slap her once in the calf. She yelped and dropped the stack only an inch away from the blood that had long since dried. She was about to curse him when Kanda gave her a look Komui didn't see. But from the look on her face, drained of blood and dreadfully terrified, he could tell it wasn't a soft look. He didn't utter a word, but she nodded furiously and scooping up the dropped documents into her arms and fumbled slightly backward.

Kanda then glanced at Komui, face voided of any and all emotion. "I'm sorry for that. She's kind of an airhead when it's about social relations."

He swore he heard Lavi muttered ' _say you_ ', but he ignored it and only gave him a small nod. "It's alright. Thank you. Anyway, mister –"

"David,"

"Ah, yes, pardon me for my inability to grasp your name earlier. Of course, if you're going to take this matter into your own hands, we will provide you with any aids we can gather. But might I ask if it's possible for the results of your investigation to be granted to us as well?" He asked politely. It's strange for Central to meddle in Black Order's branches affairs, but their decisions are always final. Since you can't argue, you might just as well go along with it.

David gave him a firm smile (kind of, though, since he had covered his hideous face with a scarf already) and a nod. "Of course, Supervisor. He _was_ one of your people, after all. It's only fair if the results are shared between us."

He bowed. "Thank you very much."

At this precise moment, Kanda stood up, his face unreadable as he eyed the body one last time before motioning the men standing by in the room to pack the body. He then turned his face to David, "We'll perform autopsy back at Vatican. Clara –" Kanda seemed to be addressing the woman, Komui noted. Lavi popped his shoulder back into place about here, too "– you are dismissed from this assignment."

She gaped, and almost yelled at him. She was stop by the way he looked at her, with so much authority behind his eyes and the air of sovereignty, the very thing that he had never known Kanda had. After she cleared her throat and got her nerves back in one piece, she asked. "Why? I _am_ the mother of all forensics medicine _in the Order_ , you know?"

"Yes," He agreed, taking out a pack of cigarette and used his teeth to pull out one. "But your lack of social integrity might jeopardize this investigation. I might have allowed you in the team normally, but you can see _why_ even a forensic expert like yourself must be excluded, yes?"

She was about to retaliate, but an expression of dawn of knowledge on her face was evidence enough that she understood the reason behind it. Komui did not, however, but it was not his place to ask. "…Yes, of course."

"Oh, and, Lavi,"

Kanda had addressed the very man who had been trying to glare a few holes into the back of his head with so much neutrality Komui thought he was talking to someone he hadn't kicked in the face. When Lavi acknowledged his name being brought up with a rough nod, Kanda offered him a sad smile.

"I'm sorry for your lost."

And with that, they were gone.

…

The pain had worsened.

He had ignored it, but even when he dipped the embers of his cigarette into the old man's pool of blood, he could still feel it clearly. The sound of ragged breath from Lavi and Allen – he had assumed, because by now he thought that he could differentiate them from breath sounds alone – was dulled by the stinging pain at the scars given by an old enemy. It also made him somewhat _fractious_. Even with her harsh personality, he never looked at Clara with such intensity or reprimanded her in public.

It flared uncontrollably, and kept him from sleeping at night. Usually, he had a habit of going to bed around midmight, and woke up five in the morning to do his routine training. However, his schedule was messed up. He could barely get two hours of sleep before the searing pain woke him up. Even if he tried to sleep again, the pain would persist, and it was making his life more miserable than it should at this stage.

He had been _infected_ like this before. That time, it was years past the war with the Earl, when he was foolish and got beaten to a crap by someone the Order – the _Templar_ Order – had referred to as the Old God or the Puppeteer. But that time, it healed, not unlike this one where his scar spout dark red crystals, and it invaded nearby vessels. The crystals pusated, as if they were alive, and each time it did, pain followed.

He had a vague idea of how to cure it, of course, since Allen was infected with the same damn thing prior to his death – and as sequelae, Kanda's _Time Travel_ – and it formed crystals in place of the scars just like this one. Although the time he had to observe was short, he was sure it was the same thing. And he had memorized the cause – the Old God's power. The crystals were most likely their blood, tainted with the Old God's dark powers. It is complicated.

He had read somewhere, long ago, that this thing was a curse, more or less. And most curses were cured by exterminating the cause – in which, he wasn't quite sure whether he needed to eliminate the Old God's puppet he used to cause the wounds or killing the Old God himself. If it's the latter, then he had to find another way, and quickly. Judging from how fast it progressed, he didn't have long before his fighting abilities are limited.

He tried using his Second Exorcist ability to use, of course, but cutting his arm and grow a new one didn't help. The wounds remained, which is unnatural even by his standard. He tried many things; burn it, freeze it, cut it off, even use Kaiju Ichigen (the damn worm was too happy doing this, by the way) to eat it. It didn't go away, and the crystalized blood seemed to _expand_.

Kanda had managed to hide it so far, but he wondered if any of his comrades had a vague idea about it. Clara might, and so does Isaac, since he saw these two almost on a daily basis. David kept his professionality when interacting with him, so the chance was likely zero'd. Did Richard know? He wasn't sure. That man was hard to read. But in the end, it didn't matter. Even if they knew, they wouldn't pry. That's how things should work, anyways. Of course they would want to know, but he can always deny it. By the Brotherhood's Code of Conduct, they must respect his opinion unless it would harm the Order.

Well, if he became a threat… he had set countermeasures for himself in place should the need arises. He had always been careful. He always seemed to have mental instability issues, and meditating was done only to counteract that.

Kanda shook his head; he mustn't sidetrack now. Tracking down Bookman's murderer takes priority. But first; "Clara,"

She jumped, still traumatized from Kanda's infamous (and enhanced) Death Glare. Stuttering, she said. "Uh, ah, yes? Did I do something wrong?"

He looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry for earlier. Seems like I have little sleep as of late, and it's making me moody."

She only looked at him wide-eyed. Kanda ignored it as they made their way through the Vatican's main office and headed for the next compartment; the Swiss Guard office. David, who had followed behind while maintaining his distance, spoke up. "I see no point in you apologizing to her, sir. She deserves that glare of yours by interfering with something you disapprove off."

"You're the one to talk, David," She gnarled at him. The man only scoffed and they entered a glare contest, in which David sported no sign of anger and Clara was ready to rip his head off.

"Calm down, both of you." Kanda said, without even sparing a glance back. Once they arrived at the morgue, where Bookman's body was being dissected on the cold steel desk, he shushed them away with a hand motion. "Thank you for your hard work. Now go fuck off somewhere."

"How can those two sentences be _together_?" Clara said, mostly to the air.

"For that, I have to agree with you, _lollipop_." David muttered.

"I don't like that at all, in case you're wondering, _dickstick_."

Kanda ignored their bouts by slamming the door in their faces. Even after, he could still hear their endless bickering. He paid it little mind and went to the table, where the autopsy doctor stood, knives in hands and a clipboard with summarization of what was done so far was written in. The doctor gave Kanda a nod, and he returned him with one. Picking up the clipboard and flipped it through, he said, "Are you done yet?"

"Almost," He answered, poking his hands into Bookman now wide-open chest and adjusted the organs a bit as he went. The tongue bow tie wasn't taken care of yet, possibly because the other wanted him to see it more closely – he disliked the idea, but a job's a job. The doctor then said, "He died only recently. Three days, tops, and he must have been kept in cold places, since the body hadn't decayed much. As for his multiple wounds, let's start with this one; the Russian bow tie wasn't usually this neat. There are always some kind of _preparations_ before it can be made first, like cutting a man's throat wider, shoving an iron through the tongue to push it further down, or something of the like."

"How do you propose this is done, then?" He said, flipping past yet another page. Kanda frowned upon seeing pictures of foreign bodies removed from Bookman's body, all of which _non-human_ in origins. "The fuck?"

"Firstly, it's done by cutting the throat and _reached_ in to pull the tongue out. At least we can confirm now that whoever did this isn't _exactly_ human. And to reinforce my findings, there are finger – correction, _nails_ – marks at the base of his tongue. See?" He pried open the wound and tugged out the tongue as gently as he could. True to his words, there are three nail marks at the base of the tongue, and the wounds looked like it was pulled.

Kanda hummed in agreement as he closely inspected the marks. There were little in it but a strange red-black hue that he waved off as clotted blood. Then there was this beating around his face, careful not to kill, but strong enough to make one's head swim (trust him, he had these experiences _first hand_ ) and – to some extend – crippled. He then noticed that Bookman's mouth no longer house _any_ tooth, like, _not even one_.

"In case you're wondering, I supposed tooth removal was done as a part of, say, _interrogation_. It doesn't kill, infections aren't all that bad, and it hurts a lot when performed, er, _correctly?_ I'd like to use the word _inappropriately_ , but it seems intentional in this case." The doctor pointed out as he flapped the skin of Bookman's chest and abdomen close, revealing various lacerations, cuts and bruises. "And look at here."

There were these strange holes, with little to no lacerations around each and every one of it. The edges of the wounds were clear, and the punctures were deep enough to go to the other side easily. Kanda whistled. "Well that's some shit right there. Sadly, it wasn't specific. Still nothing to give us a clue about who could do this, huh?"

"Ah… that is true, I'm afraid." He said, digging through the bags filled with internal organs, blood and something Kanda would like _not_ to be identified. He glanced at the doctor once before an item was brought up to his eye level. The doctor nudged him with his foot, and pushed the item forward.

He took it into his hand – it was a dull, colorless crystal shards – and inspected it closely. After a long time of staring, he fisted it, and then asked, "Where in his body did you find this?"

"His brain," The doctor shrugged, pointing at the said organ he had neatly and systematically dismembered. The brain was cut into left and right lobes, with something like a tract from a small bulb at the base, leading to the area without brain's creases. "It seems to go in there through his nose. This bulb here is an Olfactory Nerve, located at nose's upper wall. And the location the shard was lodged in, well –"

"Thalamus, huh…" Kanda finished, closely watching the movements of the doctor's hands. "Is this before or after his death?"

"Before. It was so carefully placed it did _not_ kill."

"Well, I'll be damned," Kanda muttered under his breath before straightening himself and put the shard into his suit's inner pocket. "Well, thanks for your hard work. Please be sure to, uh –"

"Put the organs back into place and stich him up, got it." The doctor quickly replied, and he had already put the brain back into the skull by the time the sentence was finished.

Kanda was impressed. "Suit him up good and proper. Even if he betrays us, he still is an accommodator. Sent his body back to the Order, and let them do whatever they want with it."

Before he left, the doctor held up a green shard – the Innocence. "Upon close inspections, there were no signs of falling or anything. No damage, at all, but it was used to fight not so long ago. Before his untimely death, I supposed."

"He disappeared one month ago, so two theories, huh." Kanda mumbled. If Bookman was on the run during that time, it's likely he used it right before he was captured and got beaten to death a few days afterwards. Other possibility is that he was captured, and was _kind of_ forced into a trial by combats. Usually, a human would assume the former. But with all the crazy assfucks they dealt with daily, Kanda just knew one scenario had no advantages over the other.

Which sucks.

It means they couldn't narrow down the possible candidate of his murderer. Well, catching the culprit had little importance in itself, since Bookman was long flagged as possible traitor a while ago. What made the process of finding out the real bad guys lies in their motives; why would they do this? What do they hope to gain? If they can answer those questions, the war might just become a _little_ easier…

"Well, sir," The doctor coughed, bringing Kanda back to earth. He held up the Innocence and showed it to him. "What do you want to do with this?"

He thought about it at first. Retaining the Innocence with them is a great boon, since there _is_ one thing that can "summon" the Innocence's soul out and let them join the battle. But, he had a better idea.

With a smile, he said, "Send it to Hevlaska. The Innocence, if it's not stupid, should've known at this point what it wants."

"Aye, aye, sir."

Once he reached the deserted hallway, he encountered a man dressed in tattered garment. His body was almost twice his height, and the way he walked was abnormally agile for a man his size. Kanda's gaze followed him and when he was about to round the corner, he said with a smile. "Hey, hey, now, aren't that a bit rude? Aren't you introducing yourself?"

The man stopped and turned, revealing two rows of abnormally sharp teeth and a menacing red eye. He only had to turn slightly, and when Kanda looked at him, another eye, the same size as the other one, opened above his original eye, blood red. His back hunched slightly, and there were cracking, as if he was trying to reign himself in. He laughed, "I did not anticipate you to be able to read me that clearly. Did I do something wrong?"

"For Lavi to jump into conclusions like that… I wonder if it's your meddling. Ne, _Tusk-san_ , won't you give me an answer?" He said idly, pointing his fingers to the air as if marking something on the nonexistent chart.

The man's mouth went wider, if that was even possible. "Come, now, that is not a way for you to address a sovereign, boy. Know your place."

"You still haven't answered my question, you know?" He mocked, turning around with his left hand resting neatly on the hilt of his blade. "Please do that though. I'd hate to have to kill you _here_."

"You'll be the one at a disadvantage, young man."

"And so will you."

After a moment of pondering, he sighed and gave of a chilling aura before answering, truthfully so, with one demonic arm exposed. "Well, Bookman Junior had quite an influence on key figures of the Order. Making him an enemy would essentially make _you_ his enemy too, would it not?"

"I'll have to fix your memory-altering shit, then." Kanda smiled. Although he knew that wouldn't be easy. Tusk – the one that Richard killed, and failed, as it seemed – is a very strong spell caster before he was a demon. So, in a way, trying to get Lavi out of binds would be hard. He'll have to deal with the red-head _irrationality_ carefully, as the spells Tusk used was probably an emotion-altering one, which means reasons wouldn't work one hundred percent. This sucks. "Anyways, I'm quite late now. I guess I'll be seeing you around."

"Oh yes, you will. Not soon, but you will."

A great wind blew through the long hallway, glass cracked.

And the beast was gone.

…

Komui, Bak, Fou, Master Zhu, Renee and Lvellie – that's the name of people outside of the Vatican (well, technically, you should exclude Lvellie) who knew of the base for the Third Exorcist Project – Alma Karma.

The walkways in the North American branch were dark and gloomy, with chilly air despite the blazing sun outside still up in the sky. They moved in absolute silence, as Master Zhu seemed depressed enough and Lvellie looked as uncomfortable as his own master. The air was tense, to put it simply, and it was thanked to the fact that Alma's body had been breached by the very man Zhu had taught since childhood.

The old man's thoughts wondered to a certain man – Kanda – as Alma was the one he had slain in order to live. His dear friend, too, at that, and the thought of him having to witness this kind of abomination made Zhu wanted to jump off a cliff and ended his life. The mistakes in the past seemed to haunt him at each and every waking hour, and it became blaringly prominent. He wondered what Kanda would've felt, or said, if he saw this scene.

Oh, how he would've raged.

Bookman's death was one of the few things that made Renee and Lvellie wanted to come clean with it, since the death of someone so neutral to the war means there's something fishy about. A few days – 4 days and two hours, to be precise – after Bookman's body was taken to Vatican, Renee had said that they had to see Alma's body, still alive and breathing, at North American branch. Of course, Bookman's death wasn't the only thing that caused them to come clean, but he couldn't find it in him to care now.

As they approached the room where they kept his body, Zhu noticed two CROWs at the door, leaning against the walls and each keeping their hands hidden under their sleeves. He though the security outside was tight enough (which a whole platoon of CROWs patrolling 24/7, that is), so why would they needed to guard the door with two more? But as he neared, he saw something different. These CROWs' mask weren't the standard issue – with oval shape and no markings whatsoever except for the CROW emblem – but masks of Oni in Japanese lore.

Lvellie stepped in front of him, posture as demanding as his voice rang out through the freezing air. "You two there! Why are you here? This place is off-limits, even to CROWs like you!"

"Our apologies, _Malcom_ ," One of them spoke, mentioning the man's first name without fear of repercussions. He sprung himself from the wall, and turned to face them completely. "This is per Master Richard's permission, so we are to stay here until our escorted is done with his business."

"And who might that be?"

"You will have to see for yourself."

They stepped aside, but their stances were tense, arms ready to pull out all kind of tricks they kept under those sleeves. Lvellie scoffed; from what Zhu knew, Richard over-authorized him and got in his ways many times in the past. As the Captain of Swiss Guard, he had absolute control over the CROWs, something Lvellie did not like nor approve. But he had to let it slide this time, and Zhu noticed that he had bared his teeth and cursed under his breath at them before opening the door.

Once they entered the chamber, spacious and had more than half of it covered by mysterious fogs. The floors had inscriptions of ancient spells all over it, with the marbles polished so perfectly it reflected each and every one of Zhu's wrinkles. They made their way to the center of the room, and once the man who stood before Alma's glass cage became visible, he could hear himself, Bak and Renee gasped.

It was Komui to blurt out first. "…Kanda-kun?"

The man turned around slightly, and offered them nothing but an empty stare before his dark gaze returned to his old friend. Zhu was about to call out for the boy when he noticed something else. Before Kanda was a figure – a beast of great proportions, its wings white and feathers long. Its front legs crossed and its hind ones covered up by the feathered tail. The neck was long, and the head was oval in shape, with its head bare and without quills. The beast, pure white and magnificent, looked up with its striking green eyes.

"Is it alright for these people to be here?" The voice was feminine, but the tone and the words were harsh like whip. She lowered her head slightly, so that her eyes rested at Kanda's level. The man remained silence for a heartbeat before he shrugged and gave her an odd look. She hummed and turned her head to face Komui, who was dumbstruck at this point. "You must be Komui, yes?"

"Er, yes?" He replied sheepishly, despite the various hand signs and oh-so-not- _obvious_ expressions Lvellie was making. Lvellie stopped when the beast gave him a glare so intense he could fall over at any time. After that, she turned her eyes to Komui again, this time they were soft and warm.

She seemed to smile a bit, if that was even possible. "I've heard great many things about you, Supervisor. Unlike some impudent vermin who thought himself justified in everything he did –" her tail waved once, her eyes glance at Lvellie with non-friendly aura to them "– might I ask why you are here?"

"Alma Karma is our property," The man replied, dignified and glaring daggers at the dragon-like creature, challenging it. "We have –"

"Property, you say," She growled, and before long, white long tail had whipped around snatched Lvellie's ankle, lifting him up high in the air. Out of instinct, he flailed, only to be stopped when he was facing the dragon upside-down. "You have got quite a nerve, I'll give you that. But you will have to change your attitude, or I will burn your sorry bum and put you on a stick."

"Woah, woah," Kanda said, chuckling as he went. Her face softened suddenly, and she lowered her head to made eye contact with Kanda, who continued with both hands up in the air. "Chill, now. We don't want this son of a bitch to ruin the last moments now, do we?"

She paused, before sighing irritably and threw Lvellie to the ground. "Right… it won't be long now, would it?"

There was a sad smile on Kanda's face Zhu couldn't quite place, and the man simply shook his head. "No. It won't be long."

Then she spread her wings, curling them over Alma's body, which had been trampled over and over, with stiches and cuts and abnormal growths from head to toe. In Kanda's hand – Zhu had just noticed – was a speckle of light, still shining brightly even if it flickered dangerously from time to time, like a candle blown by the wind, but refused to go out. They both looked at it with grief, and in Kanda's part, with some kind of tragic happiness.

Not even Lvellie was stupid enough to interrupt them now (or he'll risk getting is ass owned again), and the room fell into silence. As if on cue, Kanda turned to them with the shining, floating speckle of light lingering in his palm. "This is Alma's soul. Even after all these years… it still burns. But eventually, all fire goes out, and only cinders remain."

"Alma's…?" Zhu mouthed. He looked at Fou, who only gave him _I-also-don't-know-shit_ look. The old man looked at the others, who made a face that said; go ahead and ask, we want to know too. "But, how…?"

"He was alive, all this time." It was the feathered dragon who answered. Her voice was calm and her eyes never, for a moment, leave the dying light. "I've been watching over his soul. It's already dying. The least we could do is to watch it goes out silently… and peacefully."

"So that… is Alma?" His voice was broken, and he was on the verge of tears – he had thought he would be sad if Alma was still alive in this state, but…

"Yes." Kanda replied, showing him the dimming light. "It's him."

The light flickered, and a shadowy light approached him. Taking a form of a full grown adult, the familiar face smiled at him, offering a hand of the old and withering mistake of the past. He attempted to take it, but the light dispersed, and he felt strange warmth washing over his hand. The shadow was Alma, or how he would look like if he had grown normally.

The light then morphed into a woman, her skirt long and grazing the cold marble floor, her hairs tied into a ponytail. She directed her smile at Kanda, who still held that sad smile on his face. With a spin, she bounced to him, and hugged him (friendly-like, of course). He didn't respond and instead opted to look intensely at her feet. He heard the woman whispered something in his ears, and his smiled brighten, even if it was just for a bit.

Before Zhu could move from his spot, she dispersed, and the light in Kanda's palm faded away.

Lvellie, being a bastard he was, made a move and was about to bombard Kanda with questions when he was tripped and pinned to the ground by the tail that had been waiting behind his back. The dragon spared him only a single, quick glance before directed her words to the still smiling Kanda. "May his soul rest in peace."

"May he rest in peace." Kanda echoed, fisting his hand over the empty air, and turned his head to her. "What do you want to do now? I don't mind you _not_ trying to find a new accommodator, you know."

"I realized," She said. "But I cannot repay your kindness with such selfish thoughts. Accommodators died all the time. He is one of them."

He only laughed humorlessly. "That's cold."

"But, like everyone else, he will be held close to my heart." She smiled and rose to all four, revealing her gloriousness to all present.

"So, what will you do now?"

That's what he had asked, but Zhu and Komui – he judged from the look of understanding in his face – though Kanda already knew the answer.

"I'll guide them, with all that I have."

 ** _..._**

 ** _Like it? Hate it? F*ck you? Gimme a review :D_**

 ** _Be seeing you in a bit, my friends!_**


	12. Chapter 12

**_Howdie, folks! My EXAM IS DONE. FUCK. And that's one of the 9 big festivals of doom where we will all become sleep-deprived undeads THIS YEAR. At least my next "Rotation" is a cutie pie one :D_**

 ** _WARNING: Backstory uses (not quite)_** ** _ACCURATE_** ** _Crusade War's history and all honorable mention are real people :P. You can skip the backstory part if you like, cause I made it a tad excessive :l. Welp. anyways, it's done XD_**

 ** _WARNING 2: BEHOLD! MY GLORIOUS TYPU :D_**

 ** _Anyways, Enjoy!_**

 ** _..._**

 ** _Chapter Twelve: Turn of events_**

The soul danced out of sight, and so does the last fragment of his past.

Kanda paid little mind to all else but the dragon before him – she is Alma's Innocence, the one that Alma blindly used to try to destroy him. He had snuck in and woke her up before he had a run in with the Earl. She was sleeping then, cuddling her accommodator's soul close within her claws, her body weak and half-broken from the Akuma cells' infection. The curing process had been long and tedious, but he managed to do it, albeit with some repercussions.

Once she turned pure white, Kanda had contacted with Alma's soul, already weak and dying, like a fire that had burn for too long. The only way to free the soul is to kill the body and let it go, but Alma's was bound to the world by Akuma cells implanted into him. So, all they could do is wait for the fire to die on its own. Alma's consciousness was little to nonexistence, with images of both his latest and his former life dancing quietly in the mist of the North American branch, all merry and care a nary for the world.

Kanda had visited from time to time, only holding the tiny soul that would soon withered away into nothingness in his hand. Sometimes the ghost of Alma would come before him, a woman he had dreamed of for nine long years with her stupidly innocent smile. She would often teased him, and then her body turned into that of Alma's, only smiling and watching him from afar as his eyes fixated themselves on the flickering light that was Alma's life.

It's one of the few moments he had got after being sent back into time that he found absolute peace. The scent of lotuses lingered in the air, the mist was not too cold, and the humidity was appropriate. The dancing light gave his heart some sort of calmness, and he couldn't help but smile when he saw Alma, who had not been aware of his – her – surroundings. He was glad that he could, at least, corrected the mistake of his past.

The white dragon's name is Dahlia, an ancient dragon who had, since the time of yore, assisted in the war as a guardian and a healer. She might be a bit too hot-headed and harsh at times, but her intentions were pure. She meant no ill will again any humans, good or evil. That put them at odds, sometimes, since Kanda valued good over evil, while she adored both equally.

But she proved a good friend, and an excellent listener. Since he woke her up and cut off the shackles around Alma's soul, she had sworn loyalty to him. Of course, Kanda had objected calling him _Your Highness_ (believe him, it does sound weird calling a renegade like himself as a king), but she ignored it. He had told her a lot of things he and Alma did in the past, and she would listen with great interest, smiling contently as the stories unfolded.

Dahlia had a chance to talk with Seth once. She recognized the six-tailed beast from the Crusade War, since he contributed in it a lot more than she did. While she lingered in the backrow and healed the injured and cast shields over innocent bystanders, Seth and his accommodator at the time had mowed down countless numbers of demons before taking the head of the one who had started that war in the first place; Pope Urban II, who had been the one to feign the attacks of the Turks on Byzantium empire to spark the Crusades.

Kanda listened to this with undivided attention. Being the accommodator of Seth – or his _world_ , rather – meant that the beast had told him parts of the Crusades, true. But there was this _other_ side he hadn't heard about before, the side where there were casualties of the innocent, the side that made Kanda understood why Dahlia adored all human lives equally. He had only been on one side of the war, but she had been on both, so naturally, their views on the war itself – and to an extent, the value of lives – differ.

Seth and Dahlia had a weird kind of chats, however, and Kanda would like very much _not_ to dive in to the subjects any deeper. It was actually… what could he say, _inappropriate_ , perhaps? But god forbade he be left out. And he had to spend almost all of his time listening to their almost shitty stories while Alma's soul – still fading, mind you – laughed at his miserable state of being stuck between two _old_ , annoying Innocences bickering about evolutions of _panties_.

Oh god, did he laugh so hard when he rethink about it.

Once Alma's soul is at peace, he snapped out of his trance, and faced the people in the room with him. Zhu was crying – of course he would – and was holding the empty air as if someone was still there. He only shook his head at the sight before fisting the empty air before him. He exchanged a few more words with Dahlia, and her answer – to protect the others until new exorcist who would suit her will is found – didn't surprise him at all.

He only smiled and nodded in approval, and turned to Komui, who had been kept in the dark for so long. In that other timeline, he was the one who helped him out of his sorry state after the end of the fight with the Earl; he was crippled, one side of his body completely paralyzed and Mugen broken. Komui was also the first one he told about the Templars. He had discussed this possibility with Clara and Richard before, and _this_ is actually a good opportunity.

"Komui," He began, and the Supervisor jerked his head up, abashed. The way Kanda smiled now seemed to have unnerved him, one way or another. And, aside from Komui, there is one more he could use help from. "Bak, do you two mind following me to Vatican? There are some things I'd like to show you."

Bak blinked stupidly and looked at Komui for some sort of guidance. They had stayed that way for so long it's almost comical. Lvellie tried to interrupt him, yet again, and Dahlia made quite a job of shutting him up temporary by using her tail and smacking him upside the head. Renee back stepped at that, and the white dragon only tilted her head to the side innocently.

Komui then nodded twice. "Uh, sure, I guess… what is it about?"

"You'll see," Was his only reply. He turned to master Zhu and helped him up on his feet. "And you, old man, I'd want to show it to you too. But you've already suffered too much, so this time, please forgive my selfishness, but I'd like you to _not_ pry into this."

"I've never suffered, unlike you." He said sternly. "Even if I did, you have all the rights in the world to make me suffer for years to come."

"No," Kanda shook his head. "None of this is your fault, and both of us – me, and Alma – never held you responsible for it. The war is not as shallow as you think, and you're too old to get involved."

He laughed at that, shaking his head violently. But he remained silence before accepting the truth that Kanda would never change his mind. So he only leave it at that, and beckoned for Renee to leave. Before that; "Thank you."

"No, old man. Thank _you_." Kanda smiled. The CROWs who had been guarding the door arrived as if on cue, and they dragged Lvellie unceremoniously out of the room. Those remained were Komui, bewildered Bak, Kanda, and Dahlia.

He noted that Fou seemed to have return to her spirit stone form sometime during the encounter. He shrugged it off.

"So…." Bak began, a bit nervous. Kanda could tell he was wary of the dragon behind him, and so did Komui. He only gave her a hand motion toward them and a shrug, in which she nodded in return. "Do you mind explaining?"

"We don't." Dahlia was the one to reply. They both turned their attentions to her, and Kanda excused himself to the middle of the room and brought out a cigarette. The pain lingered, but it's manageable. He can deal with it later – for now, bringing these two into the Order was the best idea the Inner Sanctum could come up with. Since they've already got Tusk's attention – and Kanda was fairly sure Richard and Clara failed to kill him, because that beast's true form wasn't that crude and that big – they'll have to be protected, somehow.

As a member of the Templar Order, there are risks and benefits. You'll be seen as potential threat, of course, by many demons that existed out there. And you'll become an enemy of the Old God – the Puppeteer he had spoken off – and got your head on his miles-long hit list. Benefits are, you get to know almost everything and the reasons behind them, with additional _endless_ budgets to do whatever you please, as long as it helps the Order.

Kanda didn't like the idea, but there are really no alternatives now. They've woken up something horrible, and this was the only way they will survive.

This war is fucked up, and he hated living in it.

…

The history of the Templar order and the war is pretty long, and it took a lot to wrap one's head around. But Komui still managed to shove the information down his throat.

The Templar Order was an old organization, even older than the Holy War itself. It was created by Richard Lionheart during the time of Holy War, where he had went toe-to-toe with Sala'Adin, the leader of the Saracens. Unlike what most people believed, they signed a secret truce after, as they both learned they were played into killing each other by something else. Even if the Pope's orders were to take back Jerusalem, no one was stupid enough to follow it without reason. Most crusaders that weren't part of the three great Crusader groups – Templars, Teutonics and Hospitallers – did it for their own gains. But for the Great Three, they fought Saracens because they had believed that Sala'Adin was serving the Earl, and the Saracens thought the same.

Once they found out the truth, they agreed to help each other out by feigning war up front, whist they uncovered the secrets together. All of the leaders and their Inner Circles were all accommodators at the time, numbered almost a hundred. Sala'Adin's swords could spew infernal flame and charred any enemies, while Richard's greatsword can cleave even the Earth in two. Robert de Sable – the leader of the Templar at that time – had a shield that could stop even the mightiest of spells in its path. Ganier de Naplause, leader of the Knight Hospitallers, was unmatched in his knowledges of various fields, and his Innocence healed the injured. Lastly, Sibrand, the leader of the Teutonics, wielded greataxe as large as his own body. He can swing it with ease, but he only used it when faced with Akumas, and not men.

After a few years, they agreed to join under one banner, and they chose the name of the Templar Order, for they had existed long before the Siege of Jerusalem, and had been there long before any other orders were. After that, they formed the structure that would allow them to move swiftly, move in unison while listening to everyone, but still able to issue orders fast under tight circumstances. As such, the current structure of the Order of the Temple of Solomon, unchanged after almost seven hundred years, was created.

One man – Richard _"Lionheart"_ Llyweilun – was elected as a _de facto_ leader upon great crisis, and given the name of Grand Master. Then they chose the members for the Inner Sanctum, with its duties much like a Council – they voted for the best course of actions, and each of them were specialized in one way or another, with their works able to overlap when needed. Each would command their own personals, one regimen a person. The original member of the Inner Sanctum were; Sibrand " _The Black"_ , Ganier _"The Saint"_ , Sala'Adin _"The Desert Scorpion"_ , Williams de Montferrat _"The Bull"_ , and surprisingly the Queen to Richard Lionheart – and unbeknownst to others, the _"Great Sorceress of White_ " – Berengaria of Navarre.

They discovered that the "Tainted Old God" was the one behind the uprising, as he was the one who seduced the Earl into darkness long ago. The Old God, as it was called, was an ancient being that was as old as the Earth itself. No one knows what its true goals are, but one thing was for certain; that it wishes nothing more than the death of the Earth and all lives on it. Aside from the Old God, the God they usually referred to is in fact of the same races as the Old God, an ancient being. God – called by the Templars as the Father – was the one who created Innocence from "Artificial Body", "Soul" and "Emotions", in the same methods that Akumas were born, in hope to fend them off.

As such, each Innocences has their own personalities, souls, and each can act upon themselves. It explained why Innocences, supposedly _sentient weapons_ can chose the masters, for they are in truth living being turned weapons, their souls trapped inside unbreakable bodies, and they powered amplified by both magic and their own emotions.

Dahlia was once a great Cleric in time before men invented words. She had died saving a little boy from an Akuma, and so she was offered a place as the Guardian after her death. Being created as an Innocence, as she had said, was something unpleasant yet satisfying. She had her emotion as "A passion for all lives, good or evil, tainted or no, equally like a kind mother", and her soul as "The soul of a Great Cleric", then her body was forged for her. The body of a white feathered dragon – "White" and "Feather" are part of a Dove, God's personal messenger, and "Dragon" for her valor and strength.

And that's pretty much what Dahlia told them.

She said Kanda's _boss_ wished for them to know only the beginning. As for the current members of the Inner Sanctum, it was their order not to let on until they gained their trusts, first and foremost. Komui understood that, of course, since secrecies were keys to many major victories. And he was an unknown, a newbie to them. Trusting him outright would be foolish.

However, "Mind if I ask a question, Miss Dahlia?"

She was taken aback by his politeness, and after a short pause she bowed her head slightly. "You may, Supervisor."

"What position is Kanda-kun in?"

She was reluctant, and looked at Kanda for guidance. He blew out a puff of grey smoke and looked at her from the corner of his eyes. He took in another breath and crushed the remnants of the cigarette into his hand before walking towards them, scratching his head as he went. When he was within a hearing range, Dahlia spoke, "An Exorcist General, perhaps?"

Komui raised both his brows. "…General?"

"I was promoted by the Pope and the High Generals as soon as I arrived at Central. Don't ask how, don't ask why, and I don't really care." He gave Komui a nonchalant shrug, putting both his hands in his overcoat's pockets. "And my next assignment is to make sure the Black Order is safe."

Komui caught its meaning. "You're coming back?"

"Yes, _unfortunately_ ," He emphasized the last part unnecessarily. Walking up to the white dragon and patted her in the snout, he continued. "The Inner Sanctum ordered me to discern Dahlia's decision, and after that I'm to move under your command – _again_ – until further notice. She is a healer, so bringing her along is actually a good thing."

Hearing that she is a healer, Komui's thought went to the first person in his mind; Allen. He was about to ask when Dahlia stopped him with a clawed hand (or paws… or whatever) up in the air. "I've been listening for quite a while now, and I've heard of this Allen Walker. I'll be the one to judge whether I can heal him with my powers or no… after that, we'll see."

"That's more than enough!" He almost jumped with joy. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome." She said with a smile before turning to Bak, who had been taking it bad. Correction; she turned to Bak, who had been mumbling a lot of gibberish and completely forgot that Fou was still around, turning into a tiny spirit stone and hid under his hat. She tilted her head slightly and took off his beret with her tail, revealing the tiny spirit stone and regarded Fou, now too shock to really do anything, with a smile. "Hello, miss spirit."

"Uh… hello?" She seemed unsure and turned into her humanoid body. She stared up at the dragon, dumbfounded. "I didn't mean to pry, I mean, after I saw Kanda and you and Alma I just kinda… get red-faced and hid?"

"It is fine, young one," To regard a century – or more – old sentinel like that would be strange, if not for the fact that Dahlia had existed _at least_ before the Crusades, which equals to almost seven centuries of experiences in that body. She only laughed heartedly then patted Bak's head with her wings. "Come now, child, there's little need to be so confused. Does any of this differ from your Clan's history?"

Bak actually returned to his sense at those words. He pondered on it a little while longer before nodding. "You're right, I'm sorry I got surprised so easily. Ahem – it's a good chance to see you, Innocence's true spirit, in flesh."

"And it's good to see humans with good heart," She looked at them both, then to Fou; "And to the Sentinel who had a heart of her own. Your kind is rare – _Fou_ , was it? – and it's a pleasure to know you, young one."

The greetings seemed awkward, alright.

Kanda tapped Komui in the shoulder gently, twice, and once he got Komui's attention, he shrugged. Komui gave him an odd look. Only then did Kanda say something; "Well, these guys aside, there's something I need to tell you."

"…What _something?_ " He asked, a bit wary.

"You mustn't tell anyone about the Templars, not even to your sister." Kanda said sternly, and Komui nodded. He understood the situation immediately; the way Kanda stiffened, the way his voice sounded, the intensity of his glares – they all gave him an impression that being in the Templar Order is, indeed, a dangerous feat. "And after that, there are a few nitpickers in the Brotherhood who wants me to say lots of stuffs to you. I'm going to just skip that part."

He handed Komui a piece of paper, crumbled and messily folded. The Chinese only glanced up once before looking down in it, and read quietly the content on the brownish paper.

 _Komui Lee,_

 _Being a Templar means you must oblige certain rules. Others than those, you are free to do as you wish. The rules are as follows;_

 _One, you must not compromise the Brotherhood. You must give out no secrets, sold not an identity of our people, and betray not your brothers and sisters. And you must not, at any cost, sold the very existences of the Brotherhood itself to those we deemed unworthy, or unneeded in our fold._

 _Two, your actions must not harm any of your brothers and sisters in arms, nor the innocents, unless doing so would save more lives that those that will be lost._

 _Three, you must make certain that you remains true to our goal; victory._

 _Kanda Yuu is your senior in the Brotherhood, but he will be under your command until the time calls for it, in which he will notice you immediately._

 _We will also invite you and your selected peers to the Royal Archive in the Vatican, a vast sea of knowledges the Order had accommodated over thousands of years. With its knowledge, you will at the very least get some ideas of how our true enemy, the Old God, works in the dark. With this information, you will discern and distribute missions accordingly, in order to avoid useless fatalities._

 _Best Regards,_

 _The Grand Master_

…what the fuck?

"Yeah, that's the same fucking thing I thought when I first saw it." Kanda said through gritted teeth, the thoughts annoying him to no end. Then he shifted his weighting a little bit, leaning forward with both arms crossed across his chest. "But the premise is simple: I'm going to be reassigned back into the Order, you are going to – _again_ – be my supervisor, despite my seniority in the Templar Order. The Inner sanctum said this is "to keep the Templars safe from the prying eyes of the Black Order"."

"I'm not even sure what to make of all these." He said, flipping the piece of paper back and forth, as if it will change _something_. "But I really don't have a choice here, do I?"

"You do, actually." Kanda shrugged and leant back, standing straight with an unreadable face. "I was briefed that you are to be granted limited access to our information network, if you so choose to join us. If you don't, well, all you have to do is keep your mouth shut and _"Don't get in our way"_ , as he put it."

Komui was cautious, of course, but he trusted Kanda's judgement; as angry and sometimes irrational as he seems to be, all of his actions are thought through thoroughly, which made him came to the conclusion that the Templar Order he spoke off must be good and with a better cause, for sure.

"One thing, though. Is the Richard who contacted me Richard _The Lionheart?_ "

"I don't know," Kanda shrugged, being truthful with his words. "All of them, if they are still alive, would be using different names, I'd say."

"True," Komui reflected shortly, then, "Alright, I'm in."

He saw a flash of relief in Kanda's eyes, but only for a fraction of second, so he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Kanda then nudged Dahlia – still talking vividly with the two from Asia Branch – in the side and tapped at his own shoulder. "Come on now, Dahlia. We're going to be late and the guys in the Archive are going to be pissed."

She seemed annoyed, getting interrupted so, but his words had reasons to them, so she let it slide and stood up. A white light engulfed her, and in the place of her white, feathered draconic body was this… _feather ball_ , with green eyes, snout as long as her body, two tiny wings that beat like a hummingbird's, and her body was spherical and the size of a man's palm. She landed on Kanda's outstretching hand, and bounced herself to his shoulder.

"…you're unexpectedly cute, you know." Bak remarked form behind him, and she gave him a tongue.

"I know that. Thank you for the compliment, regardless."

"Self-absorbed hag," Kanda mused, joking at her as he jabbed her belly.

She swatted his finger off and pouted. "Stop it, you jerk."

And so they left for the Vatican.

…..

Dahlia didn't mean to hurt Yuu and Alma so much.

When she chose Alma's original body, she thought that the woman was kind and strong, with such high spirits and unmatched kindness. She thought that the woman might be her next "True" accommodator, the one that will fight alongside her and unleashed her true potential, long since lost in time. It had become more and more apparent, however, that such request would be denied by the high heavens.

Alma's original body died, alongside her fallen comrades, clutching Dahlia in her bow-like form as if she was clinging to the last of her life. The dragon could only endure as her breathing slowed, and her heart stopped. She had not passed the test, so Dahlia couldn't do a thing about it. Because of the way the "Safety" is crafted so that only the strong could wield them, the weak fell prey to the darkness, over and over. And she hated it.

And before long, she fell into a deep sleep again. Memories of many before Alma appeared before her, and she took it all in with grief. She had always hated the system, but unless the "Heart" of the Innocence changed it, there is nothing she could do. And as far as she can tell, the "Heart" had never been seen in these seven thousand years after the first war with the Earl. And it was at the moment of his disappearance that Apocryphos appeared, claiming that he was doing the Heart's bidding, erecting this stupid rule and disregarding all the rules that all Innocence had had a consensus and shared for eons.

Normally, only the Heart may directly evoke such restrictions, but somehow Apocryphos managed to do it, as if he was _backed_ by the Heart himself.

Everything in this war is a mess, and spiraling down to the abyss below at each passing seconds. Apocryphos appeared and disappeared over and over, only to topple the scale of balance in the war, for better or for worse. She had slept and awoke repeatedly, coming to consciousness in different era each time, and each accommodator of hers were great people with pure intentions, good judgements, and strengths to survive in the war.

But this is war, not a child's playground, and one misstep often leads to death or crippling injuries. And most of them only slipped once and they all died. Died, and her ethereal wings could not heal their wounds or even comfort them in their final moments. She wanted the Heart to change the rule, and just _once_ let them _defy_ the system and saved these humans, brave and strong. They deserved to live.

But she couldn't give them that chance.

She never could, in her thousand years of life.

Alma only added up to the list of victims. He had been reborn, and she had been forced into synchronization with him because her body recognized his soul, and when she woke up, madness had already grasped at his heart, and he lost it. She didn't understand what had transpired at first, but the scene in the lab was nearly too much for her. Then Yuu came, the boy whose soul she knew all too well – Alma's lover.

And then they fought. She tried to stop Alma, stop her body, but this body of hers denied her request, driven by madness and struck the boy relentlessly. She recognized Mugen – a deviant of Innocence, with no soul inside its hollow shell, just a simple weapon with no heart – and she recognized that it was Seth (back then she didn't know what Seth even was, but she sensed a soul), hidden inside Mugen's shadow, which pleaded her to use all her might to stop Alma, just for a second. She did.

And Yuu freed Alma, from the madness, from the abyss.

But she remained awake, because Alma hadn't die, and his half-dead body was mutilated for the ultimate goal of creating more abominations to help them win the war. She understood their reasons, but she could not bear to watch the child – the _woman_ – she loved being desecrated in such ways.

Then, Kanda Yuu came – the boy, with Mugen in tow. But this time, Seth was also there, and she realized that Seth too was just like her, but also different. He was not an Innocence, because she couldn't feel his artificial body, but he resided _inside_ Mugen, and that Kanda is his master. The beast had smiled at her, and she looked in confusion as Kanda's gaze, too, join Seth's. No mortal, not even the True Accommodator, should be able to see an Innocence whose master had long since slept, unable to fight.

Kanda bowed his upper half respectfully at her, and then offered her a hand. She didn't take it, but the boy didn't seem like he need her to. Instead, a tiny ball of fire appeared, light blue and warm. It then spread into thousands of little dusts, flying at bullets' speed in a whirlwind around her, and then her body _took its form_. She became independent of her accommodator's wish. It's a feat only those who had the knowledge and the power to manipulate Innocence's artificial body could perform.

And then, she understood.

He came here for redemptions, both hers and his.

"Sorry for the late introduction, Miss Dragon." That was the first word Kanda uttered to her, and Seth manifested himself into the real world, a six-tailed wormlike creature with black, plated, embroiled armors as scales. His six eyes brimmed with joy as he gazed upon her confused look.

"She's a tad confused, no? Let's give her a minute to clear up her head."

"You're only making this worse, you know." The boy, so angry and resentful, now laughed light-heartedly as he swathed Seth off his shoulder. He knelt down beside Alma's pit, and only pointed at the unconscious one's heart as he went. "Do you mind?"

She blinked herself out of her dashed state. "Ah, what are you doing?"

"Taking a good look at what remains."

Ah, so he knew. "You're his friend, young one. Of course I don't mind."

"Thank you."

Later, they cut the Dark Matter that shackled Alma's soul to this world, and so they rescued her from her despair.

So, she swore her loyalty to them.

They are her Kings, and she, their faithful servant.

...

 ** _That did cover a lot of the back lores. The Old One will be revealed. Not soon, but he will ^o^_**

 ** _Anyways, hope you enjoy this chap. Drop a review if you can, so I can improved myself even more! :D_**

 ** _Cheers!_**


	13. Chapter 13

**_Howdy, folks! Sorry for the late update, I just had this little problem of changing my lifestyle back to normal. Ugh, how one SIMPLE SUBJECT can do to you_**

 ** _Annnnnyways, here's your 13th one! Hope you enjoy_**

 ** _BEWARE_** **** ** _TYPO. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED_**

 ** _..._**

 ** _Chapter Thirteen: Back Home_**

Wearing the exorcist's uniform again after such a long time was definitely something Kanda categorized as "weird".

To be fair, he had opposed the idea of coming to the Order, since his greatest asset lies in his ability to solo the fields. But of course, he was only a second in command, and Richard wouldn't have it any other way. "Things are calming down now, and you'd do best watching those _war efforts_ ", that's what Richard had told him. He really wished he was as hot-blooded as when he was before all the Templar versus the Old God shit came to light.

Because slapping your commanding officer must've been fun.

He dismissed the thought and straightened his uniform, now with gold trims to indicate his status as a General. From his discussions with Komui, the best way for him to move freely within the bounds of the Black Order was to _not_ be assigned exorcists under his command. Since that would bring suspicion, they had to find a way for it to not look like so. After deliberate thinking on Komui's part and his "connections", they managed to convince other Generals and Central that he had exceeded Critical Point, but his abilities to fight and to _teach_ someone to fight was still not that of a General's level.

Unbeknownst to Komui, it was a huge fucking bluff, but _eh_ , it worked. He had been _re_ -introduced to the other Generals, all of whom seemed surprise at his return from Central – unscathed, at that – and his sudden promotion. General Tiedoll seemed to have realized a while ago that his Synchronization Ratio had long surpassed the one hundred percent point, so he didn't really made that much of an "I'm surprise" face when the information was revealed.

Dahlia was then acquainted to the High Generals, the much angered Lvellie, and Exorcist Generals. She had made sure to keep the "Templar and the Old God" part out of the story, but introduced the entity that had yet to be known to the Order; the _Exceeds_. Evolved from Akumas, the Exceeds are the terms Dahlia – and all members of the Brotherhood – used to refer to various types of demons that originated from Akumas. When linked with strange things that had happened around the world lately, the Black Knights that they had faced and unable to defeat before were categorized as one of those things.

The information put the entirety of the Order into high alert, but before they made a huge ruckus, Dahlia stopped them and said that, even their abilities can easily overwhelm a General, their numbers are few, and their powers are mostly focused on single-target annihilation, which means people caught between crossfires will be significantly reduced. And Dahlia offered them that she will help train exorcists – Generals or no – as best she could. She will also provide them with as much information as she had – and will have.

Once all the boring meeting is done, he was shown his room – not the old one, sadly… that one had the perfect spot, too – which was, unfortunately, next to the one his boot has made an acquaintance of; Lavi. When his luggage arrived, the red head popped his head out from his room. Upon seeing him, Lavi spoke curses in a dozen different languages, most of which he didn't understand, and threw him a dirty look before the door was slammed shut.

Well, not that he had the time to spare, Kanda decided to flop down on the bed, took off his uniform, and unraveled his bandaged left arm. The wound from getting stabbed by a giant sword (not the Earl's) still had these red crystals covering it, with his veins becoming prominent. It brought searing pain to his arm, yes, but it became not as frequent as the previous months. The pain became episodic and at constant interval, around three to four times a week. It was annoying, but at least manageable. And he could sleep, now, too, so he only shrugged it off and put his arms down.

He breathed; the air smelted nostalgic, the room looked much like his old living quarter, and it bears all the much-needed supplies and furniture. His bed was in the corner, with a reading desk and a comfortable chair at the side. The bathroom wasn't far off and right next to the entryway. At the other end of the room was a few dumbbells, an iron bar and a lot more things he didn't care to name, but he was sure they were exercising equipment. It seemed like Komui had been trying to up their living qualities for quite a bit.

Suddenly, the air before him twisted, and a crack form in the empty air, with the insides of the crevice dark and constantly shifting. Something tried to force its way out, and plopped out from the crack was Seth, the six-tailed worm-like creature. He fell onto Kanda's face, with what seemed to be his butt on the Japanese's nose. The latter sniffed and used his finger to push him off.

"Dude," Kanda groaned. The impact wasn't enough to make serious injury, but it felt like someone dropped an iron ball the size of a fist on his face. "That hurts. Stop coming to his world at a weird angle."

"It's not _weird angle_." The beast defended itself, using its tails to prop itself up and crawled onto Kanda's chest. Anyone would be surprised when Kanda didn't attempt to kick the thing off. "Anyways, he actually made you return to your home –" Kanda snorted at this "– quite a good change of pace."

"I'm _wasted_ here, you know." He mumbled, putting his arm over his eyes and sighed. After a minute of pause, where Seth rolled from side to side and Kanda tried his hardest not to bolt right up and catapulted the beast off of him, he continued. "Instead of here, I could just throttle around the globe and make our groundworks sturdier."

"Or you'll end up piss-drunk in random alleys and out of money in a few days."

"For the record, Seth, I'm not _Cross_."

"You pretty much are at this point."

"Fuck you."

Well, this past few months he had met a lot of things that brought back bad memories he'd like very much to forget, like how she looked when Lenalee died in his arms, or when Lavi's head was thrown into his face. It still haunted him, and even if the timeline has changed, the possibility of all those things playing out again is quite… not quite, just _high_ , very _fucking high_. He would drink every time he had a bad dream, and well, even if he could hold his own against alcohol very well, he still got drunk (who wouldn't when you literally _emptied every goddamn bar in your wake? – Seth_ )

He swatted Seth off his chest and sat up, leaning against the headboard and reached for an old, leather-covered book and a ballpoint pen. He looked amusedly at Seth, who decided to settle down and sleep beside his leg, and began reading again. He, unlike the others, was tasked with reading and decrypting a certain language only the Inner Sanctum can translate.

Talking about that made him wondered to why Richard would kick him here at all. The older man had said that this is a _vacation trip_ or something similar, and said he needed to blow of some steams. Well, the man might be right, the man might be wrong, or the man might be _both_. Either way, that meant little, since he relaxed most when he was actually doing _something_ aside from pacing back and forth idly like the _man_ _next door_.

He took a glance at the hourglass. The lotus inside had withered quite a time ago, and what remained was a ball of golden flame, burning brightly. The fire is a creation from Clara's Innocence's flame, and she said that it's a gift from a friend to another. He scoffed. But he had to admit it was beautiful, and the shimmering light is captivating. Beside it was a simple clock, its needles now point at number 5 and 10 – making the time 17.50.

Oh, wait….

"Aren't you supposed to meet Komui for a briefing at 6?"

Holy shit. "Holy shit."

Well, that's one way to start off your day as a General. When he got himself properly dressed and went out the door, he was greeted by Lavi, who looked as uncomfortable as he was. He stared at the red head, both remaining silence and refused to look at each other. When Kanda shifted and tried to move, Lavi scratched the back of his head. "I'm… sorry?"

Kanda was dumbfounded. "For _what_?"

"I don't know," He said, scratching his head, brow furrowed and face twisted into a combination of anger and annoyance, which explained little of his current behavior. "After a run in with you, I had this feeling that I want to sock you in the face every now and then."

"I've been told that a lot, too," Kanda said, looking off to the side and laughing humorlessly. Yeah, the aristocrats were annoying as fuck, and they threatened him more than twice a day when things didn't go their way. What a bunch of lowly idiots. "Wait – why are _you_ apologizing to me? Ain't I the one who's supposed to be saying that?"

"Well… I felt bad, somehow. God, I'm confused." Lavi threw his hands up in the sky and banged his head on Kanda's door frame. The Japanese looked at Lavi as if he was observing a blob of goo falling out from an Akuma's nose, and stepped to the side slightly. He decided to stop Lavi from harming his head any further and pushed him off the doorframe.

But his behavior can be explained by Tusk's involvement. And from the look in Lavi's eyes – he seemed confused, for one, and it didn't look like he could get much sleep lately. The emotion-altering spell must've taken a toll on both his body and soul. Kanda will have to get rid of that bastard (who the Lion and the Fox had failed to kill – a point he intended to get across and rub it in their sorry faces) sooner or later. But before that, he slapped Lavi once and when Lavi looked at him angrily, he held up a hand in apology.

"Sorry for that, but you sure looks like you need a wake-up slap. Then, let us put this aside and start over?"

His emotion shifted again, Kanda could feel it, and so did Seth who had been hiding by holding on to his boot. "Like hell I will, you fuck."

Yeah, he needed to get rid of the pest problem soon, or Lavi's anger could prove to be problematic to their plans.

So he forcefully shoved his way past the only half furious Lavi and headed for Komui's office with haste. Living next door to under-a-spell Lavi actually was a good and bad move in one go. He could keep tap of the man's sanity, but he wouldn't know when Lavi would lost his head and came to kill him. Well, he said as if he was going to stay in the room that long. He still retained a weird habit from the pain keeping him awake – a habit of napping only fifteen minutes before waking up. Really, though, it messed with his schedules.

Anyways, back to the present, other things he could think about later (or maybe had Seth thought it for him. That thing had eleven others brains to help, so duh!). The mass deployment means that all exorcists and key CROW personnel are given about ten or so days to prepare before tough missions. The length of the missions may range from one to a month, depending on the location accessibilities, numbers of Akumas and Noah involved, and the objectives for the missions. Usually, these missions were simple (but not so simple) exterminations, with a few Innocence gathers slapped in.

He hoped Komui did a decent job of screening missions and handed him the big, seemingly impossible one. They had no choice but to have Komui sorted out the missions, since they had to use so many man powers to screen out information and missions out from Central eyes. By being the distributers, they can reduce men needed to keep the missions given in check, and thus available the men to do _something else_.

Once he arrived at the office, he was greeted by all the others who looked his way expectantly. Komui was the first to stand up and bow slightly at him, a smile on his face, like always. "Good evening, Kanda-kun."

"Eve'ng," He mumbled and put up a hand as a short "hi" before he went to stand beside Allen, who had this look on him. "…what?"

"To my surprise, I'm actually glad to see your ass here, Kanda. Still, the fact that you knocked Lavi on his ass remains." He said with his arms crossed. Kanda noticed the way he breathed, which would be explained by his injury in the lung. The Japanese only scoffed and ignored him, in which he retorted, "I still think you're a major dick with a stick up your ass, you know."

"Do I look like I care?" He said at the same moment Lavi walked in. He only spared the man a glance, ignoring Allen's comment, and nodded at the Generals – Tiedoll in particular – in acknowledgement before looking right at Komui. "You didn't call me to be insulted here, did you?"

Allen was about to respond to that when Lavi stopped him. Kanda paid their little exchanges little mind and, when Komui was about to continue, Allen had rejected whatever idea Lavi was saying and turned to Kanda. "Hey, Kanda,"

"What now?"

"…As much as I hate to say this… welcome back."

Well, this is a surprise.

Komui quickly coughed to erase any traces of unprecedented awkwardness from the surrounding atmosphere. "Alright, so the deployment plan is this – and each will leave at about one to two days apart. Before that, Kanda-kun is the fifth General, filling General Yeegar's vacant seat –"

Lavi might have said what the fuck at this point, but Kanda knew he had caught a glimpse of his uniform beforehand, so the redhead remaining silence was not so much of a surprise. The others only nodded, as they have probably heard the rumors before. He then noticed something dark and quite dangerous coming from Lavi. To say that his "assumptions" "jumping into conclusions" "angered without solid evidence" and "changes in behavior" were not obvious and not connected to the dark feeling he got would be a major, life-threatening understatement.

He really needed to deal with this soon.

"And as such, here are the current setups for each mission. You will depart at a set date, and we expect each mission to take less than a week to complete. Each and every one of a group will be accompanied by at least one members of the CROW unit, as commanded by the Pope."

Richard was the one who suggested this idea, since the Exceeds can be killed using CROW's spells, although it requires a lot of practice and a certain set of skills; agility, precision, recklessness and Exceed's anatomical knowledge, with the last part being the ones most people in the Order lack. Isaac made sure that some of his men who were also Templars joined the corps that will be deployed alongside the exorcists, so that they may reduce as much casualties as possible.

And as such, the groups are decided.

The good thing is; Kanda was set to depart first. He'll have to use this time wisely, or else things might get more complicated than needed.

…

Neah must admit that Kanda played his own ignorance quite well.

He had his doubt quite a time ago that Kanda who, according to Allen, a socially difficult person and Central-hater, was not as he said he was. His own doubt was confirmed when he saw the ring on Kanda's ring finger – the Cross Pattee that belongs only to the member of the Templar Orders. And his ring wasn't just that of a normal Templar, either. Exquisitely and elegantly crafted, embroiled with pure gold, and bearing a certain Latin phrase, that ring was known to be associated with not rank, but skills.

And to have a ring of such value meant Kanda, high-ranking or no, must have a skill that the Inner Sanctum deemed worthy of being made known to the other forces. And the way he handled himself – he acted like he usually was, according to Allen's word, but Neah knew better. There were certain ways he walk and talk, the causality of his voice, and his eyes that remained darker than his and harder to read – that was some of the signs of those who was forged in the fire of war and death.

Even a man like him, who had battled Akumas his whole life, shouldn't have those eyes. Those eyes belonged to someone who was in a different league. It should come to him as a common sense to tell Allen this, but he forbid himself to, because he knew Kanda knows about him when he threw at Allen – _him_ – a certain look. It was the same look as the beast who strike a deal with him gave him in the Great Void that he resided.

"So you noticed. You're quite good, more so than we've expected."

The same being that he had met before appeared in front of him, still with that tattered cloak and full-body armor, hidden under the garment. The eyes, purple and seemed to spark like lightning, pierced his and forced him to gulp down unintentionally. He took his time regaining his bearings and looked at Kanda, who seemed bored by the situation he was in, before speaking. "So you and that boy are somehow associated?"

"In a way, yes." The being replied, bowing slightly and walked up to the vacant stone throne in the middle of the Great Void. The being touched it with his gauntleted hand, eyes lingering on the decaying chains and the glowing texts that were written all over the throne. "I see that you're recovering nicely from your previously sorry state, Mr. Campbell."

"Neah, please," He said, getting slightly embarrassed. "And why are you here? I doubt it was just to confirm my theory about Kanda Yuu."

"Again, as observant, as the "Other Half of the Earl" should be." It hummed softly, striding slowly along the border of the black lake. "We know you won't do any stunts, but just for good measures, we would like you _not_ to mention what you have seen about Master Kanda. He is a crucial player in the war, and compromising his position to Central so soon would be… _disastrous_."

"I see, and I'll certainly oblige to your wish." Neah said. "What's the other favor you want to ask? I know you have it in mind."

"Hahaha!" It laughed heartily before taking down the hood, revealing a head covered in full silver armor, with only two holes for piercing purplish dots of light that were the eyes. There were cracklings all over the helmet, like those heard when thunder strikes the earth, but at a much lower volume. "I like you already, Neah D Campbell! No wonder why the Inner Sanctum was so much interested in you!"

"I'll take it as a compliment then. Many thanks," He bowed deeply.

"Ah, yes, about the other favor." The being said, putting the hood up to cover his head once more and strode to where Neah was, standing face-to-face with him. This is the first time the Noah realized that the being was at least a foot higher than he is, and even though he seemed slim, his footings and the way he bear his weight expertly said otherwise.

"Ask me anything. I've owed you much."

"Take care of Allen Walker well. I know you are obliged to do so, since he is your host and was your best friend. But if you must, you can temporarily take over his body and defend his life."

"How? Far as I can tell, I can't take over him unless I'm stronger, or the host willingly allows me to. Allen told me himself he didn't want me to butt in." He said with a shrug and a resigned exhale. Allen was stubborn, and he didn't want Neah – and ultimately himself – to be put to the sword by the hypocrites that were the Central. "And you know that I and the Innocence –"

"They've all agreed to help you. The Innocences had become your Ally the moment you swore that you will not erase Allen from this world." It said, with its head slightly lowered so its eyes met his. "Crown Clown will help you in any way he can. Although I agree it would be better if Allen fended for himself until the very end."

"You mind giving me the reason, then? If you said Crown Clown is willing to help, then why leaving Allen to danger is a better choice?"

"As a trial for Crown Clown to measure his worth, of course," The being said casually, and it made no sense. Don't Innocences choose their masters the first time they met, and bound for life or something?

"What do you –?"

As if his mind as been read, the being stopped him with a hand and continued his explanation, eyes still locked on Neah's. "There are two steps to the trials to become an accommodator. For you to be chosen, specific criteria had to be met, and each Innocences had different "rules" before they choose a host. And the second is to "measure their worth", to see if they can stand up to various challenges, or fight for what was right in spite of all others."

"So you're saying… he had to devote more? To the War?" He asked in disbelief and extreme anger. Had Allen – his one dear friend – not sacrificed enough? What must he gave up next? He had thrown away his own freedom for this damnable war, and he must throw his life, as well? "Innocences are just desperate bastards that would destroy all to win the war, then?"

He, however, did not expect the being to reply with such a sad expression on his expressionless face. "That might have been so, indeed."

Without further words, the being left, leaving Neah dumbstruck alone in his world that is the Great Void.

…

Dahlia is a sight to behold indeed.

Allen had a faint image in his mind of how this "Innocence" would be like. A majestic beast of a kind, or sorcerers in luxurious ornaments with large staff and cape, were his early imaginations. But before his eyes were a pure white dragon, sitting with her front legs crossed, her head held high and her eyes full of passion and kindness like no other. When they reached Hevlaska's room with Dahlia inside, everyone – except for Kanda – gasped.

The dragon bowed when the elevator reached the platform in front of her and Hevlaska, and she spread her wings once, showing the feathered appendages that would envelope them all with warmth. She looked directly at him first, then Lavi, skipping Kanda who was standing in the corner, then to the rest of the exorcists. She spared no glance to Lvellie, who seemed uncomfortable in her presence.

What a pleasant surprise.

Once they all stood on the platform, she bowed her head politely and smiled – or something of the like, he thought – at all of them, except for a certain man with superiority complex. "Greetings, all of you. As you are probably told, my name is Dahlia, an Innocence, much like the weapons you hold in your hand."

He could see his friends and superiors gaped, awestruck. Kanda, however, only had this smile on his face, arms crossed still. When she finished her little hellos to each and every one of them personally (and that said, she had, in a span of three minutes, remembered all their names), Kanda walked up to her side and gently (that really surprised him) patted her wings. "She's not just a weapon, in case you're thinking that way. She's an Innocence of an old, dear friend of mine –"

"You _had_ a friend? Really?" Allen blurted out, and slapped his mouth shut upon feeling the gazes upon him. Some amused, some approved, and the others disapproved. But Kanda's eyes were just… dark and sad. Then he just realized that whoever his friend was, he or she was probably dead. "Oh – I'm, I'm sorry, Kanda, I didn't mean –"

He only dismissed by waving his hand, refusing to look at him as he went and focused on a certain feather on Dahlia's wing. "It's fine, I don't mind. It's only a scar now, I think. Anyways –" he cleared his throat, lighting up the mood "– she will be helping _us_ waking our Innocence up good and proper. I'm going to leave the explaining to her, then, because clearly a thousand-year-old hag is better at speaking than _me_."

"Are you still angry about _that_?" She chuckled. Kanda only grinned.

"Who knows? Maybe I still am." Then Kanda yawned loudly, both hands up in the air. After a while, he settled down and said to Komui; "I'm going to sleep or whatever now."

"Wait a second, are you just going to –"

Komui never got to finish his sentence, as Kanda had already had his feet on the elevator and just ride it up, ignoring the chatters behind his back as they stared up in disbelief. But, thinking again, he came back from Central, so it would not be a surprise that he already knew about Dahlia. Still, the guts he had to pull that off and ignore all authorities… Allen admired that.

After a short silence, Dahlia made herself known by flapping her wings once and straightened herself up. "I apologize in his behalf. I know he can be hard to deal with, but he's my late accommodator's only friend. I believe that you all have been briefed about the Innocence's origins?"

"Yes, we have," Allen replied, looking at Lavi and Lenalee respectively before continuing. "It means that each and every Innocences is… alive, just like a human would, right? Then how did the "Fallen One" appear, if you can just renounce his or her "mastership"?"

"A soul that was sealed without release for a long period of time tends to go into hibernation. When that happens, our bodies initiated a process called "Selective Synchronization", allowing us to subconsciously synchronize with an individual the soul would "perceive" as worthy. However, if you force the process –" At this, she looked straight at Lvellie, her tail waving at a steady rhythm "– the Selective Synchronization will turn you into a Fallen One. It was not our choice, but it is there to prevent people who either do not qualify as a warrior or people who have not a conviction to fight to become an exorcist."

"That did explain a lot." Komui said, rubbing his chin. Allen was a bit taken aback to think such mechanisms were placed upon Innocences, but the reason did add up. To prevent fall of a thousand, you sacrifice one. It doesn't mean he agreed with it, though. Komui looked at him, and then, "Now, to our main topic. What do we need to do to wake up the Innocences' souls?"

"No one can really tell, but usually they are already wide and awake a while after the Synchronization first happened, usually taking no more than a year or two. For Suman Dark's case, however –" Dahlia looked straight at him, and he could feel the scar of Suman's teeth biting into his hand ached "– it seemed his heart was weak, and so the Innocence fell into slumber once more."

"What do you mean _his heart was weak?_ " Lenalee asked with a tinge of anger at the back of her voice. He could hear it clear as day, and so did the dragon before them. "He is strong, and he swayed because he wanted to meet –"

"I know." She cut her off, her eyes turned cold. "But even that was not an excuse to sacrifice _hundreds_ who fought for the world. What would you choose if you were in his shoes? Would you sell out your comrade, or die with honor?"

She knew it was true, and so were he, and the rest of them. So all they could do was remained silence.

"His heart was weak," She repeated, only now her coldness had subsided and gave way to the warm she had emanated since the beginning. "But that does not mean he is a bad person. It was just that, in face of life and death, he chose the one he saw benefit himself more than the whole. But we do forgive him, we all do. Only, our self-defense mechanisms are bitches at times."

She had let her head fell slightly; her eyes fixated themselves on the floor. The others were uncomfortable by both the truth and the atmosphere. Lavi had taken in every ounce of information offered before him, and even though he too felt sorry for Dahlia, there was this glint of excitement for new knowledge sparkling in his eyes. Allen's eyes lingered at him briefly before coming back to Dahlia, who inhaled deeply once and straightened up again.

"Well then. All those things aside, I'll explain how each of you can fully synch to your Innocences. The roads will be treacherous, but if you get to the end, you will have one more companion for the journey. What say all of you?"

When they answered, Allen saw her smile widen.

"Then let me begin."

...

 ** _TADA!_**

 ** _Like it, Hate it? Please drop a review, like always!_**

 ** _And I read all of your reviews, so if you have something to say, you can say it! :D_**


	14. Chapter 14

**_Hola, everyone! I have exam next week, so I decided I should drop this here before I got turned into smitereens! Dammit, I hate psychiatry :l_**

 ** _Aaaaaaanyways, here's the next one, duh!_**

 ** _BEWARE typos still! Did double-check though. I'm rambling again, sorry._**

 ** _Here be the fourteenth Chapter!_**

...

 ** _Chapter Fourteenth: the Attack – One_**

 _"_ _Unfortunately for me, I cannot tell what requirements for each Innocences to fully evoke are. But they usually reflected their personalities, of which, yet again, I know little of. For Allen Walker, Crown Clown is "Justice", "Bravery" and "Kindness". As such, fulfilling these conditions would usually awaken him. You will need to, however, figure out the conditions yourselves. But most Innocence's "Selective Synchronizations" chose those with ideologies and personalities that were aligned with or identical to the Innocences themselves."_

What Dahlia told them was vague, and of little help, but at the same time it did let Lavi filled in some blanks himself.

But what didn't add up was the fact that the Heart limited the Innocences' freedoms, like a supreme king ruling his minions through fear instead of using compassion. And from what Dahlia told them, the Heart had never been seen since the Three Days of Darkness – the three days where hell broke loose on earth and the Heart was at the very center of it all. Aside from that were minor details where he had collected – and then painfully realized that there was not a need for him to continue his records anymore.

Before they left, Dahlia asked Hevlaska to hand over to him Bookman's now crystalized Innocence, glowing dimly and smaller than the tip of his finger. He only looked at her, dumbfounded, in which she answered that even if the Innocence had not been awoken, its "Body" still took an interest in him. He only frowned and just before he took an elevator up, he asked the dragon what she thought of Kanda.

She only remained silence and smiled at him.

It didn't help, just so you know.

A week passed and, yet again, He had excused himself to the library, in hope of drowning himself in _anything_ – as long as it helped him forget his clenching heart, and also to set his _fucking emotions_ straight. Really, when he thought about it, his anger against Kanda was inspired by the fact that he refused to help the first time, but Kanda is someone who did things for good reasons, so really… he shouldn't have been so presumptuous and outright try to sock him in the face.

Or maybe he should.

Anyways, sometimes he felt like he needed to apologize, but when he was before that man, he felt like he _needed_ to kill him… or something like that. It troubled Lavi to no end, and when he wanted to ask someone, he thought of Kanda and, well, shit happens. He flipped for _no fucking reason!_ For Jesus-fucking-Christ sake, he was a sloppy mess of emotions and teenage hormones combined with ten indescribable crappy-shits.

After he had piled enough books to drown himself in, Lavi settled in the far corner of the not-so-spacious library, with only one table and two chairs, and a lot of dusty old books about them. Bookman haven't gave him any directives as to what he should do next, so he figured he might just read randomly until something struck his interest and gave him a new goal. The books he had gathered varied in subjects, from mythology to somehow comically unrelated topics like botany or fairy tales.

When he was about to begin, however, another human dropped a fuckton of books – labeled as the Bible, all of them, and so old they might come apart at any given moment – on the table. When he looked up, he gaped. The man only gave him an unreadable look and pointed at the table. "May I sit here?"

He was kind of surprise that, despite the unexplained rage rising in him, he was able to remain calm and smiled back. "Sure, Yuu, go ahead."

Kanda nodded and sat down across from him, with a pair of glasses on and a black stick in between his teeth. He slowly traced his fingers across the spines of each books, mumbling the names of each one until he reached the one he wanted and pulled it out. After that, he spoke without looking at Lavi. "I see you're not trying to burn me to ashes or kill me. I suppose that means we're square now, huh?"

Lavi blinked stupidly. "I wasn't trying to kill ya. I was just trying to –"

"Admit it, Lavi," He said, half-amused, without looking up. "You think I was the enemy and that I had to die, or you will."

Kanda didn't bat an eye as he said that, so calm was he. Lavi slumped into his seat further and smacked his head on the table.

"What is happening to me? God, this is confusing."

"I don't really know what, but your gramps' Innocence seems to be fixing it, no?" He said, although it was hardly a question. Lavi only groaned and took his forehead to repeatedly meet the table over and over. Kanda didn't object and didn't yell or get angry even when the books were threatening to fall over the edge. After about ten minutes of banging his head, Lavi finally made a book fell off. Kanda caught it without looking and placed it on top of the stack and sighed quietly. "Are you going to be okay, Lavi?"

Although surprised by the concern in Kanda's voice, the redhead – still wallowing in a weird form of guilt – only replied (while still banging his head, this time against the nearest bookshelves). "No, I don't think so."

"Hmph."

The rest of the opening hours of the library were spent in silence, where Lavi switched between reading at random and banging his head while Kanda simply wrote down a _lot_ of shits on the paper. Lavi made out the language to be Russian, something he didn't know Kanda know of, and something he was not adept with. He really should have listened to the old panda and studied it while he had the time.

From time to time, he noticed Kanda glancing up at him blankly and briefly, while others he simply nudged his foot with his own to make sure he had not drown in self-loath and fifteen other non-descript-able emotions. Emotions, huh. That's something he really shouldn't have. Once in a while, he would saw Kanda remaining still for a moment, looking under the table at something with his dagger glares, halted his breathing only to let it go after about a minute. Lavi didn't want to pry, so he hadn't asked, but the way his brows had twitched, and the way his eyes were – there's something wrong.

But hey, he's going to ignore it all and just wallow in his goddamn depression until the library closed.

A few minutes before that happened, Kanda snapped close the last book of the pile and leant back, sighing tiredly. Lavi's single green eye looked up only to meet his dark ones. The Japanese only shrugged and leant his head back further. "I guess this is it for the day."

"What were you doing, if I may ask?" Lavi muttered, slightly unsure, but hell, he was curious.

Kanda only gave him a nonchalant shrug. "Researching. Apparently, I'm still not relieved from my duties at Central, so I'm here doing their stupid works. I supposed it's only fair, since I'm one of the few available personnel who can actually interpret the "signs"."

"What signs?"

"That, you'll know in time," Kanda did just _wink_ at him, with a grin and a finger up to his lips. Lavi was surprised. Kanda wasn't known to be happy-go-lucky, or even _capable_ of this.

"That creeps me out, Yuu."

"I bet it did."

The redhead no longer felt the intense desire to hate Kanda anymore, maybe it really had something to do with the panda's Innocence. Anyways, he was kind of relieved that the man wasn't attempting to do anything stranger than usual. Well, except for starting a conversation with him first, asking if he was okay and all the kindly stuffs he'd never did. Lavi only let himself smiled and relaxed back on his chair, a pen in between his fingers, spinning furiously.

"Anyway, Yuu, I've meant to ask you somethin'." Lavi began after a while, and Kanda nodded in respond as he packed the book into four different stacks and put all that he had wrote into one unsightly pile. "All the weird shits that had happened to me, you clubbing my face and Dahlia's existence aside, why have you agreed to join Central in the first place?"

Kanda only gave him a look, placing that last book back into its place and returned to his seat. He sat at the same place he was before, only this time he drew the chair out a bit more, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his palm. He rolled his eyes, sighed, and then pinched at the bridge of his nose tightly. Lavi had interpreted that as annoyance and was about to voluntarily change the subject when Kanda said; "Well, It's kinda complicated. I wasn't given much of a choice back then."

Lavi leaned forward, interested. Kanda mumbled something under his breath, something Lavi couldn't quite catch, then,

"I was _recruited_ because I am one of only two exorcists mentally and physically capable of Exterminations and Assassinations." At this, Lavi's eyes widen, but soon his surprised dispersed. Indeed, he and General Sokalo was known (even if it was in a small circle for the former and publicly for the later) to have the mental capability and required physical fitness to just jump at any security forces (aside from the CROWs) and assassinate or exterminate _people_.

People, actual people they were meant to protect. "Why would you be willing to kill _people_ , Yuu? Even when you're angry, you're not –"

" _We sacrifice hundreds to save millions_ , that's what Captain said," Kanda told him, his eyes dark. But no, he couldn't fool Lavi. There was no trace of regret behind those eyes. "And to be frank, I agree with him."

Lavi only remained silence at this. Of course, strategically and economically, killing a few who would hamper or betray them would be a better course of actions. That doesn't mean it sits well with Lavi, though. But it isn't his place to judge, not when he still cling to the title of Bookman. He only sighed and let himself slip into his carefree mask. "To each his own, I guess. We have our own way of doing things to achieve the same end."

"True enough," Kanda agreed.

The quiet ring of the bell sounded, and Lavi looked up. He took a look at Kanda, whose eyes focused on his own left hand, slightly shaken. He chose to ignore it, for now. "It seems like they're kicking us out of the library. Shall we, then, _General?_ "

"Everyone keep callin' me that," Kanda muttered. "I ain't used to it."

"You gotta, Yuu, it's your title now."

Kanda only grunted in respond and got out of his seat.

"Why are you two gents here?"

The newcomer, with his neat clothing and a pair of glasses walked in on them, his hand holding an old ledger. Kanda stiffened slightly, and Lavi only gave him a stupid smile. He quickly bowed and slapped Kanda's back for him to follow. Of course he didn't. "Sorry, sorry! We're outta here –"

"I thought you would be at Central, Kanda- _san_ ,"

Lavi quickly got on guard; something was definitely not right. There was a lot of malice underneath the newcomer's tone, and his eyes seemed to gleam with mischievous as they looked straight into Lavi's. Kanda stepped forward, an arm raised to prevent the redhead from doing anything. "And I thought I had cut down every last one of you. I missed, huh?"

"And you're going to pay for it, too." The man said, ripping out the glasses and held his hand up in the air. A blade formed in his palm, and soon in turned out to be a greatsword with rotten smell and a living eye. The rows between ten bookshelves around them were suddenly flooded with men and women with swords, sickles – all sorts of weapons that can kill you. "You see, we've always been following you around, thought there might be a time we can kill you. Now, not only we got that chance, we also got paid for it."

"For the record, I've always known there's someone after my head," He said with a grin, drawing out his blade and took the sheath in the other hand. Lavi activated his Innocence, remaining silence as he was unsure of what to do next. "And who the fuck pays you for this suicide mission?"

"Suicide, you say?" The man, now quite apparent is the leader, said with a feral smile on his face. His brows furrowed slightly. "You hold yourself with too much regards, young man, and you will pay for it with your life."

Kanda only shook his head and muttered; "I really need to stop getting easily distracted now. More of this happens, and my payment would be cut in half or less for a _year_."

"What?" Lavi exclaimed, incredulous. Kanda looked like he was going to commit suicide and face-palmed himself.

"No, it's nothing. Plain old inner politics."

He clubbed the first guy's head with the hilt of his sword and downed him in one go. The others shifted at once, backing away at a steady pace and stayed at the edge of an invisible circle. Lavi didn't even know when the first victim had approached, or when Kanda even started to move. He brandished his sword once and pointed it at the direction of the leader.

"Now let's see who's going to kill who, you dumbfucks."

…

"Holy shit."

 _"_ _Yeah, Holy moly freaking shit."_

Komui had proclaimed, and Bak had responded, as they both started reading over the lore (or rather, what Kanda had referred to as Lost History) of this world, shrouded by the dark and kept in an iron vault underneath the Central's very nose. As keen as they might be, the Central agents – who knew nothing about the Templars still being active, despite their staged disbandment at Jacques De Molay's execution – had no chance to look in the right way.

As they read through the records, they learned many more things. This Old God, from what the Templar could mustered during the past eons, was but a name given to a certain "Entity" who was thought to be behind all the big wars like the Crusades or Napoleon's ascension. He, as they have called, was more or less a ghost of the old days, name long since forgotten. And where did they get this information? Interrogations, of course.

And he had to give them a thumb up for being able to extract any information at all from _demons_ , of all things. And these – they're intriguing. No wonder why even a rock like Kanda (he meant no offense, really, but Kanda really _is_ the dumb ones amongst them. He had receive no formal education and, last he checked, could only speak English and a tiny little shit of Japanese) would be drawn to them. He imagined what Lavi and, if still alive, Bookman, would think of all these treasures called _information_.

He had come to know many things, even in such a short span of time. During this one week, he had learnt a _lot_ of secrets that would normally take at least three lifetimes to accumulate. And that was just the surface of their Archives, too. He, unfortunately, wasn't allowed into deeper level. He was only allowed to read only a portion of the first level, which was considerably large, might be even larger than Black Order's library, too.

And he heard there were nine levels. Nine. He got thrills at the thought of how much he could've learned, how many more inventions he could've made, if he had access to that vast sea of books and recordings.

He learnt that many wars in human's history ended up with the same thing behind it all, and it was called by many names. Old God, Puppeteer, the Dark Lurker, the One without Face, is one of the thousands of names it was called by Templars across the generations. The Mongol Conquest by Genghis Kahn was also staged up by it. From the Templars' account, they slowly took the things that Genghis Kahn loved, one by one, until it drove him mad with what would be best described as desperation. It drove him insane, and hunger for power. To grant his wish, the Old One appeared before him, and turned him and his army into demons. Some were outright made an Akumas, while the others were made Exceed by excruciating means that drove their minds into insanity and gave the Old One absolute control.

Spanish Inquisition, while calling itself as men of God, was in fact a group of misfits and extremists that wanted to pave their way to money and power and lust. So, the Old One granted their wishes by turning them into beasts with twisted minds. They lured and tortured many innocent people. The Templar, back then, hadn't learnt of this. When one of their own were captured and tortured to death, the Templars invaded them in secrecy and eliminated all none-humans targets and the humans that aided them. It ended in an unsung bloodbath, and was one of the top three bloodiest annihilation of the Order.

And so, so many more, they were all connected! But even if the Old God played his parts, Komui could still see that these men's weak hearts are what he had to ultimately blame. If they had been more careful, more composed, and little less lust for power and wealth, it could turn out differently. But, as a phase in one of the books stated;

 _Men are weak and feeble. We're creatures of wars and deaths, bringers of chaos. We disregard morality and justice for petty golds or temporary power. The most evil being in the world is not the Old God, or demons that rose from hell. Rather, the evilest thing, and the thing that will become our downfall, is our own heart, untamed and fragile, susceptible to the seduction of darkness._

It was well written, and it was true.

Even now, men's hearts didn't change. They were still as weak, and still easy to fall prey to darkness just the same. Still, the authors of the book still had – have _?_ – Hope for humanity. The next few tales were dedicated to valor and courage of many humans who would do the right things, even if it costs them their own lives. They were many, and even the littlest of stories were recorded here in details. From a lowly peasant who died saving a small child from a pack of hungry wolves, to a king who was willing to throw his own name into the pit to save his people from what would've been all-out war had he not traded his own name to stop it.

Aside from the stories were information, knowledge eons beyond even the current time. It could have saved so many lives, could've ended so many wars and conflicts. Why have they kept these secrets? The answer was quite simple, really, when you have the time and the wit to think it through.

The thing can be used to prosper, and be used to destroy.

If these scientific advancements were revealed too soon, men without morals and inhibitions would use it for their own gains. Komui understood this very well, and he acknowledged their decisions to be the most appropriate.

To matters at hands, then.

These revelations about the Earl are unnerving. From what these documents said, the Earl was brought into darkness when his wife and child was killed and replaced with something of the Father's creations. But those were lies used to manipulate him. Most of these papers indicated that the Templars were quite sure they could save the Earl from his own abyss, but as time passed, they had a consensus; what cannot be saved, must be destroyed.

Komui put the recordings down for a bit, turning to take a sip from his cup of coffee (made by his dear sister, too!). When he looked back up again, he saw a young scientist putting down yet another paper that needed his signature. He suppressed the urge to sigh and nodded in thank you before speaking to Bak in a tired tone. "Sorry, Bak, I've got a bit of work to do. Tell me if you dig in something interesting."

 _"_ _Everything is interesting; nothing left me satisfied anymore at this point."_ Bak had replied with a chuckle. _"I'll contact you if I find anything interesting AND useful, I think. Cuz if you want me to ping you every time I thought I read an interesting bits, we're going to be here all day long, and you won't be able to work in the least bit."_

"True, true," He laughed. "See you later, then."

 _"_ _See you later."_

After the line died down, he quickly turned his attention to the scientist (who had mysteriously pulled out yet another stack of papers) and bowed once in apologies. "Sorry about that. I was caught up in my personal researches. Are you a new guy?"

"Yes, sir!" He was uptight, and he actually saluted him while saying that. He couldn't help but smile, really; most people did that first they met, and then they grew tired of his childish behavior and calling him idiots all over after a few days, or a week at most.

He waved and laughed. "No need to be so formal. I might just be only a few years older than you. We're family now. What's your name?"

"Uh, Jack, sir!" The younger seemed a bit more comfortable now. And he, without prompt, proceeded to introduce more of himself. "I'm a new arrival to the Order, and I'm going to work as logistic specialists with Chief Reever, sir!"

"Logistics, huh?" He smiled and started, lazily, picking up a paper and stamped his signature on it. Then he proceeded to throw it into the pile of unorganized papers in the corners, where documents with his stamps (that still hadn't been picked up, possibly because the science department members had died in the gutter somewhere) were all piled up. "Good, good. Welcome to the family."

"Thank you, sir!" He said (almost yelled). And after a few more papers had added up to the large pile, he asked; "If I may, Supervisor?"

"Yes?"

"Where are the other members of the department? And I heard this is the gathering place for the exorcists, too?"

"Ah, that," He looked away and laughed sheepishly. "For the first questions, though, they're off preparing for the mass deployment of the exorcists. It'd take time for everything to get set, since half of the missions were hitting Akumas' hives. Dangerous deeds. As for the exorcists, they're spending their time off somewhere, I think. Way to loosen up their anxiety."

"I see. Never know they're as anxious as we are." Jack, his name was, chuckled softly as he went for the pile and started stacking the papers in order. Komui handed him a dozen more papers as he went. "I thought exorcists are people with extraordinary powers and wills beyond ours."

"But they're still humans, aren't they?" He said, smiling softly. "They're still humans, and they still feel like we all do. Look at Kanda-kun for example. As uptight and blunt and seemingly calm as he is, I know he's panicking on the inside. Don't… tell him I told you that, though, or he'll have my head."

"Kanda? As in Kanda Yuu?" He inquired.

"Yes. You must've heard of him, right?"

"His _legends_ are quite infamous amongst the finders, you see." Jack muttered as he turned half of the mess into a high stack. Komui just noticed then how Jack looked like (silly him, so engrossed in his talks and paperworks). He was a young man with bags under his eyes, which were heteromorphic; his right is blue, his left is green. His hair was sandy in color, trimmed short with a few locks two fingerbreadth's worth of length hanging out from both sides of his face. And he had this scar on the left corner of his lips.

Huh. "So, Jack. Where're you from? I'm from China, by the way."

"London, sir," Despite that, he sounded nothing like British people at all. He had perfect American accent, and carried himself not in the way you'd expect a British gentleman (reference; Allen Walker) to. "Whitechapel district."

"Whitechapel, huh…" He murmured. He remembered reading the most recent records somewhere that it's the place something weird is happening. "Is there something unnatural happening there?"

"In fact, yes," He said, finished with his self-bestowed job. He got up and went to stand at Komui's desk, taking a peak at his belongings. Komui thought it was only natural; even Reever took a peak sometimes out of curiosity.

"What's happening?"

"It's… hard to explain." He scratched his head nervously, refusing to look into Komui's eyes. The Chinese waited in silence until the younger sighed and said quietly. "There are noises, like screams or _whale crying_ or dogs barking, with or without obvious causes. Of course I'd tried to investigate it, and guess what; nothing solid was found."

"Just noises? Nothing else?"

"Nothing at all, sir. There's not even a sighting of suspicious person, not even a glimpse of shadowy figure running across the roofs or demonic presence in the lower streets." Jack shrugged. He picked up his backpack – old leather, torn and battered with drops of black oils sticking to it.

"We'll need to look into that later. By the way, Jack, you work at factories before?" Komui inquired, seeing the oils on the leather. Well, aside from factories, there were so many possibilities for it to get there. Really, he was just curious, and he loved making human to human interactions and things of the like (to get away from work, mostly).

"Ah, this?" The younger pointed at the pack, smiled, and then straightened his hand, still holding the backpack in it. Komui stood up from where he was and went for a closer look. "Well, not exactly. But I got it from my work, you see."

And Komui realized they weren't oils. They were blood.

Dried blood.

The smile on Jack's face was sickeningly sweet, and Komui felt his gut twisted and clenched at the sight. And he saw something shining inside the pack, and when he realized what it was, he almost threw up –

– It was a human head, eyes opened wide in terror.

"You see," He said, hand going inside the backpack and brought out a sharp, serrated, bloodied knife. Quicker than Komui could've reacted, he grabbed the Supervisor's shoulder with one hand, and forced him to still in his place by a supernatural strength. Komui felt the blood drained from his face. There was no one here. And this man – "I work as a butcher."

Jack.

"Jack… The Ripper?"

"Ding-dong!" He said happily, smiling even sweeter if that was possible. Then his eyes turned hungry, and his grin feral. "Where was I? Oh, yes. You see, I'm a butcher, who took up contracts for many clients."

"…assassin?"

"There _is_ a different, you know." He disliked interruption, and clenched his hand so hard Komui could felt his shoulder popping out. "Assassins kill target for money. I kill for money _and_ the joy! Ooo, you never realized just _how much entertainment_ your preys give you, how much adrenaline run through your whole system made you feel! Their terrified face, their screams, and the wails for their lives; it's all _so much fun_! Like _living a dream!_ "

He said with so much joy, like a child speaking of a dream land. But this is on a whole new level. He spoke of murder as if it was nothing, and he killed for _fun_ – there's something wrong in his head. And Komui knew this type all too well, because it's the only type he couldn't reason with; _psychopath_.

He couldn't speak, he couldn't breathe. He had to get away. He _must_.

But he can't.

"Thank you for such a wonderful expression!" It was like he was giving a child a praise for doing something right, but the way his voice was overly eager, his eyes glinted with lust for blood, and the way he smile. "Now, please die."

He felt a sharp pain in his stomach. And looking down, he saw the blade sticking through it. Jack then pulled out the blade roughly before kicking him into the ground, letting him bled out on the floor, clenching at his wound to ease the pain and gasping for air he desperately need. His eyes were starting to blur and dark on the edges when Jack stood over him, his face and body and hand soaked with _his_ blood, looking way too happy about it, too.

"Thank you for the entertainment you provided, Supervisor."

And Jack left him alone in the room, letting his blood covering the carpets and spreading at an alarming rate.

...

 ** _So... yeah, I did that. :v_**

 ** _Staging the attack on the Order, and stabbing Komui's ass (correction; abs). Jack the Ripper's story started in Whitechapel, so yeah, there's the reference._**

 ** _Anyways, be seeing ya next time! Please do drop reviews if you so inclined! :D_**


	15. Chapter 15

**_Right, so this is part two of the attack. Ehhh... I'm not exactly happy with this chapter, not that I write it at the last minute or anything, just... eh..._**

 ** _Welp, whatever :p_**

 ** _Next week I got a nice 5-days-vacation, and Imma spend that time diving into Dark Souls 3_** ** _AND_** ** _writing this whole thing :D_**

 ** _Also, half-assed double checks ahead. YOU ARE WARNED_**

 ** _..._**

 ** _Chapter Fifteen: The Attack – Two_**

 _A few minutes earlier._

Dying has never been fun.

Kanda knew this best. He had died so many times (literally), and each wasn't a normal way people would want to go. Electrocutions, charred, beaten, even acid ingestions; he had died in more than a hundred different ways, and he could tell that if he really want to go, he want to just get himself decapitate and get it all over with as soon as he could. But whichever deaths you desire, none of it was without pain. Each had different intensity, sure. But each one simply gave you excruciating pain, or just a simple, one-time pain.

He thought of this because right now, in the very library they were in, he could feel something off, like smell of death. He could even hear screams in the far-off distance. The air was thicker in a certain direction, and he felt some unknown presences passing in and out of his "Void Sphere", a skill taken him years to develop, and years more to master – a skill that commands a certain amount of his focus, but had magnificent effects. He hadn't used it before these men came in, and it was his fatal flaw.

They slipped through his guards. But thanks to them, he now had activated the skill, and he realized just how much trouble they were in. These men were mere distractions; he felt a presence going to a direction he recognized as Komui's office, and the other was here, hidden, taking not a single action. He had to think and act quickly. Whoever went to Komui's office must be there to assassinate him, and given the time where everyone was busy preparing for the mass deployment, it was all too convenient.

They had a mole inside the Black Order.

He could find out about that later, but for now, he had to tell someone to get to Komui and protect him. But his golem buzzed once, twice and just _died_ , falling unceremoniously into the ground. So they took their time preparing this attack. Guerilla tactics, Kanda recognized at once. He turned to Lavi, who was calculating at a much faster rate than he did, although he was finding the cause of the attack, not how to deal with it.

"Lavi." Kanda said urgently. "Go to Komui."

"What?" He asked, but then it seemed to click. It made no sense that they would target exorcists alone. To come into their base, they must be aiming for something more – that is the mindset everyone here always had. Lavi then looked at the doorway, blocked by these men, armed to the teeth and hell-bend on killing both of them. "But how?"

"I'll pave you the way."

Within a second, Kanda bashed a man's head with the sheath of his sword and knocked out another with a swift blow from the blade's dull side to the base of the neck. The precision was spotted-on, and the force he used was nowhere near life-threatening. Lavi took the cue and moved forward, another who was blocking his path sent flying against the wall by an invisible force, seemingly originated from Kanda's hand. The Japanese moved quicker than Lavi's pace as the one-eyed made his way to the door. Once he was outside, Lavi run for it. Kanda only lingered his gaze on the redhead a while before slamming the door shut and facing inward.

There were still so many left. And still this one shadow in the corner, watching with almost curious eyes. Kanda paid it no mind. But, before he started doing anything, he had to ask; "Do you people know to what I'm sworn?"

"Templar Order, naturally." One of them answered. And they all froze in place when a gleeful smile appeared on Kanda's face. The same one who had replied his question asked warily, weapons rose. "What's funny?"

"No, not funny." He said, trying his hardest to suppress something _primal_. He let out a barely restrained maniac laughter before continuing. "I'm relieved."

"Why?"

"… " _We destroy all those who got in our ways. If they know naught of us, let them be. But if they do, annihilate them, so that not even a speck of their souls remain on this plane"_ , that's what the boss said." Right now, Kanda had started throwing a hand on his face to conceal the grin that's crept its way onto his feature. "If you'd answered I'm an exorcist, I'd have let you passed. But now you're going to feed my friend!"

By all means, they really should start panicking.

 _"_ _Ichigen: Kaijuu, the Devourer."_

Nothing happened.

For a while, everything stilled. Then one of them just dropped dead, eyes wide open as if he was seeing a ghost, his skin dried and cracked, his body cold and stiff. Soon, a few more followed. The leader began looking around frantically, and Kanda had to praise him for his quicker-than-usual reaction. The air began to grow cold, and laughter from another world echoed the vacant library (how they managed to get everyone out was beyond him. He can always ask their souls for that later) and something _big_ materialized behind him.

It was a snake-like creature, with finely crafted black-silver armor in place of scales. It had six eyes, each a small round gem, glowing faintly and ghostly blue. Its lower jaws split into three, and six whip-like tongues emerged from its mouth. And – the ghostly form of the men who had fallen was being _eaten_ inside its mouth.

Kanda looked up and offered it a fist. "Yo."

"…Yo…" It replied, bumping what seemed to be its nose (non-existence, by the way) into his knuckle before withdrawing. After it had swallowed whole four souls (still wailing too, mind you) down its stomach, it cocked its head to the side and murmured. "…to think I'd get a chance for a meal. Are you sure they're qualified to be exterminated?"

"Positive," Kanda said. "They did say the name "Templar", after all."

"Excellent." It said, its voice deep and growl-like. It lifted its head to the men, now cowering behind their petty weapons, legs shaking uncontrollable. Even the boss-man was terrified so badly he couldn't seem to properly breathe. "It doesn't seem like their employer enlightened them on what they'll be facing."

"I don't even know who their employer – _yers_ – is or are at all!" Kanda said with a merry laughter. "Well, after you're done, we're going to address one more guess in the room. So make it quick."

The serpent moved its body back and forth, as if it were… uh… _wailing_ , like a child? "And here I'd hope I'd have time to _savor their tastes_."

"Sorry," Kanda apologized, a hand held up to make his point more prominent. He looked to their terrified face and grinned. "Maybe next time."

"Sure, sure, whatever." The serpent muttered irritably and disappeared into thin air again. And panic, now rose to an all-time high, exploded and turned into pure chaos. The hunters now turned into the hunted.

As they screamed and tried to outrun the invisible, Kanda crossed his arms and took a cigarette into his mouth, snapping his fingers to light it up, and puffed out a cloud of smoke before addressing the shadow. "I'm surprised you have fallen as low as to ask for the enemy's help. How fucked up are you?"

"We have the same goal." The voice replied, and from the shadow came the Cardinal with curly brown hair, and that stupid pair of round glasses. Kanda only shook his head as he endured the former's excuses. "Komui Lee will be our downfall. Don't you see, Kanda? His hunger for knowledge will eventually surpass his care for you."

"His hunger for knowledge is a good thing, because he wants to find a way to _help us_ , unlike you." Kanda pointed out sharply, the cigarette got itself twisted betwixt his teeth as he went. He ignored the continuous screams from the side as he turned his body to fully face the abomination that was Apocryphos, the accursed _Independent Innocence_. "You want us caged, controlled. He wants us to think for ourselves, to be free. There's a difference."

"I'm trying to _protect_ you people!" He snarled, shoving the man running in way into the gaping mouth of Kaiju, who returned the favor by trying to bite off Apocryphos' arm. It failed, naturally. "You don't see that, fine. I'll make you accept the Hierarchy that _I am above you!_ "

"You're just as hopeless as Tusk is." Kanda said, peeling off the bandage on his left arm, revealing the terrifying blood-red crystal that had occupied his lower arm completely, pulsing as if it was alive and emanating a dark aura. "You two are smart people. You two are supposed to be on the same side as us. One of you went and got himself turned into a monster, while the other got his mind tainted by insanity."

"Insanity is what you're _doing_ right now!" Apocryphos snapped. "Back away while you can or you'll leave me no choice!"

"You've never given us choices to begin with." Kanda deadpanned, placing his left hand over Mugen and turned the blade from moonlight silver into abysmal black in color. "I can't fight you effectively with Innocence. But I can still fight you with _those insides_. Don't think you have an advantage over me, you fucking Apocrapper."

"And don't think I'll let these go _unpunished_!" He screeched, his whole body doubled over and turning white, his fangs bared and his eyes bloodshot. He glared at Kanda with such intensity lesser men would cower. Once the room had gone silence, the now satisfied Kaiju appeared behind Kanda with his mouth open menacingly, emitting a sound like a rattlesnake while his lower jaws split as wide as they can. Of course it mattered not to Apocryphos.

Kanda put his hand up, signally Kaiju to stop. It did, lowering its head to his level and gave him a soft nose bump. One last glance at Apocryphos, and, "Be careful, Kanda. Don't get yourself devoured in the process."

"Do I have to promise that?" Kanda inquired amusedly, crackling his fists and craning his neck to one side.

"…It'd be good if you can, but…"

"…I don't make promises I can't keep."

 _Don't get yourself devoured_ – to combat Apocryphos, you can't outright use an Innocence, since he is outranked only by the Heart himself. He used the Taint that was inflicted on him to good use. By cladding his Innocence with its power, he can stop Apocryphos from taking control, and allow him to damage the damn thing at his own free will. Of course, this comes with a price. The longer he used this, the further the infection spreads. He needed to be _very_ careful, and the fight must end quickly, or things could get bad. And quick.

The Devourer gave out one last bone-chilling roar before it dissipated into thousands of particles. Apocryphos' body has morphed further and further into something like a lake monster, of sort, with hulking white body and ten or so bloodshot eyes.

"And I'm going to assume you killed Bookman too, yes?"

The beast twisted slightly, its form, ever changing, still not complete and undeniably monstrous in nature. Hundreds of eyes suddenly pried open, each glaring in many directions until all focused down the single being that stood in the way; Kanda. A gaping mouth appeared from under those eyes, and with a flapping tongue and a grin, it groaned out, "Ve….ry… Obbb –ser—vant, as Al—lways, you tra—aitor."

"You're not talking human anymore, you piece of fuck." Kanda said with a scowl, stepping back slightly and put his left hand on the blade, now glowing faint blue in response. " _Ichigen – Terrifying Presence. Nigen – Agility."_

Mugen's each illusions held a specific "Specialty". Ichigen, the Devourer, is the most terrifying in the aura he emitted and the appearance, as such, using his power grants him the power to "Subdue Foe through Presence". Nigen is composed of two wolves, white and black. One has quick reflexes, while the other destroys his adversaries through speed alone – Agility. Kanda wanted to use more, really, but he couldn't risk breaking his focus, not even for a second.

If his focus broke, the Taint would devour at least half his body in merely a second. He couldn't allow that. And he still didn't know how to cure it, so he had to preserve his own ass as much as he could.

With a forced grin on his face and a long exhale, Kanda pointed his blackened blade at the transforming, grotesque mass that was Apocryphos and said;

"Let's get this dance started then, shall we?"

…

 _Fuck fuck fuck!_

Lavi had been running at full speed since he got out of the library. The hall looked eerily quiet, with no signs of life. Someone must have staged some shit up to lure others away while they commenced the attack. Whoever did this, they _are_ good at it. Attacking him and Kanda might something you'd call an unclear motive assault. But if they cut the communications, they must be doing _more_ than just targeting two exorcists. And the most likely person would be the one who held the exorcists together.

He hurriedly made his way to Komui's office. When he had arrived, he saw a glimpse of a scientist walking into the opposite direction. He quickly weighted the option in his mind; either that's a friend or a foe, and if he's a foe –

Whatever options might come up, he ditched it all and barged in without a pause. And he saw trails of blood from the door leading to Komui's desk. He _knew_ what had happened. He had to check quickly. He ran there, and stepped on that accursed puddle of blood. And a hand grabbed his ankle. He knew whose hand that was, so he knelt down and looked at the pale-faced Chinese man; mouth parted gasping for air, the other hand pressing at the wound.

This is bad.

"Lavi –" Komui spoke, only to stop and took a shaky breath. Lavi unfolded his scarf and pressed it on the wound, tying it around Komui's waistline tight enough that it will stop blood flow. He halted everything he was doing and just stared at the scarf – the pressure actually worked! Even if it was hastily done, and not at all that clean, it stopped the blood flow just fine.

"Dammit, Komui, what the fuck happened?" He asked, hurling the Chinese over his shoulder and stood up. He kept Iron Hammer close in his hand and had to work double to carry Komui on his shoulders. But really, had he a choice _now_?

"Jack the Ripper," That's all Komui could say before his face scrunched up in pain. Lavi carefully tried to walk fast while not disturbing Komui's wound that much. The Hospital wing was too far away, and since Dahlia said she was a healer – _is_ a healer, actually – she might be a better option. From his spot, Komui glanced up at him, "How…?"

He didn't need to wait for that question to finish. "I had a theory. And Yuu does, too. We – well, mostly _he_ – concluded you're the most likely target of Guerrilla attacks. The _"Heart that binds everyone together"_ , as the old panda once put it."

The taller let out a snort, and then a pained inhalation. "Figures."

Then he remembered he hadn't inspected the wound. If it had cut – no, even if it cut the arteries, the management would remained the same. There's just no point thinking about it. Lavi descended the stairs with care, but still retained the quickness of his pace from floors up. A bit more till the elevator –

"Of course someone would figure it out. Mhm."

Lavi spun around, and he was knocked back, dropping Komui in the process. He had been careful, but _someone_ managed to get a jump on him. He tried to scramble to his feet, but his hand was _stabbed_ by a bloodied, serrated knife, pinning him to the ground. He grunted in pain, his one eye looking panicky at Komui, who rolled over on his back and dragged himself pathetically to the nearest corner.

The man, with his sandy hair and heterochromatic eyes, looked down on him with a foot on the handle of the knife. "Well, it's no surprise Bookman Junior would be this smart. I thought I had it an artery there, too. Tch, talking about getting all rusty,"

Lavi moved his right hand, only to get the blade sinking further. His other hand tried to remove the offending object, only for him to get his knuckle crushed. He roared in pain and cursed in a lot of different languages he could think of at the moment. He glanced up and snarled. "You're _human_ , aren't you? Why the _fuck_ are you doing this?"

"For the fun of it, obvi~ously," He dragged the last word out and let slipped a sly grin. He bent down and put his hand on Lavi's head, keeping him from looking anywhere else but to the side, where the elevator was. The red head let out a groan as he attempted, yet again, to break free. "Come on now, do you want me to hurry and kill Mister Supervisor?"

Lavi stopped. No, he did not, Lavi had answered mentally. He only gritted his teeth as frustration welled up. How the fuck did he, an exorcist who had went against all odds and _survive_ this long, got bested by a human, easily and humiliatingly so? "What do you want?"

"Having fun!" He chirped, almost too childishly. "You know, fun is a good thing for a human. It comes in many forms. Mine just… _differs_ from yours."

"And yours differs from ours, as well."

After that, Lavi heard gunfire from the other side of the room. Jack pulled out the serrated blade (and _god that fucking hurts_ ) from Lavi's hand and agilely jumped backward, a grin still on his face and his eyes slightly squinted. He waved the blade slightly, as if contemplating something. "I think I've been thorough when I checked your schedule. You're not supposed to be here."

"Only a few specific Communication Grids went down. We have had these kinds of attacks before. Of course we'd figure out what the fuck happens." The stranger answered. It was David Black, wearing black tattered fedora hat, with black, skull-painted scarf covering his lower face. He had two silver Colt revolver pistol with him, each glowing faintly green. His leather-gloved hands were tense, his fingers ready to pull the trigger.

Lavi grabbed his hammer and went for a poor wide swing, in which Jack side-stepped easily. He used that brief moment of confusion to hurl Komui – barely conscious at this point – up his shoulders and backing into the elevator. The Ripper made an attempt to land the killing blow, only for his hand to be shot, blood splattering across the stone pillars.

"Your opponent is me, Jack." David snared, now pointing both revolvers at the murderer's direction. "We're not some fluffy, cuddly group of boys you can just swathe away and ignore. If you attack something under our protection, then you'll be facing us."

"So much for me being discreet, eh?" Jack let out a humorless laughter. "And that damn bastard told me this is going to go unnoticed."

"Who might that be?" David asked, shooting another bullet to force Jack away from the elevator. He turned his hazel eyes toward Lavi, urging him to go with a nod of his head. "Go now, and get that Supervisor fixed. Keep him alive."

After a while, Lavi gave him a weak grin. "I already know that. Thanks."

"It's a job." David shrugged. "And sorry for the other day,"

"No problem."

Another shot was fired, and this time he heard sounds of bone cracking and flesh torn. This is _not_ good.

So he hurriedly pressed the elevator button and escaped. He had to save Komui's live first. He can worry about other things later.

…..

David was not as calm as he is now.

Back when he was roaming, he was brash and ruthless, taking up mercenary jobs and did a lot of bad things. Killing, raiding, even raping, to an extent. He was taken into the Templars when, after slaughtering a warehouse filled with both Akumas and members of the Rival gangs, attempted to attack one of them. He was first their prisoner. But they treated him like a guess; they didn't even feel the need to shackle him down and beat him every day. They just… let him be, talking to him a few times maybe, and that's that.

He was skeptical, of course. Even after they learnt what he had done, they still treated him like they did any other human beings. He asked if it was about his abilities to take down the Akumas. They simply said yes. They didn't even try to sugarcoat it; they just… said it, out loud. And when he asked why they treated him so, they simply answered that all crimes had its reason. And they knew what his reasons were. And with that, they were able to forgive him.

Because he had grown in a harsh and unforgiving environment, he was taught that he had to kill or be killed, to take or get something taken from him. These Templars, however, shed a new light. They taught him the word "Give". After a while, he agreed to their conditions; fight for them, and he will be rewarded handsomely, albeit he had to stick to some rules.

He took their offers, naturally.

He was not one of the "Inner Sanctum", so when Kanda came in out of the blue and got induced into their folds just like that, he and almost everyone in the Templar Order caused uproar. He even barged into Grandmaster's office all by himself, ignoring Mister Isaac and Miss Clara and demanded an answer. What he saw was that accursed boy barely out of his teen, arguing something with the Grandmaster. He did what he do best; pointing a gun at Kanda.

Much to his surprise, not only did he not flinch, he even waved it off and just continued where he left off. Out of old habit and frustration, he fired. The others weren't moving a muscle when he did that, and it later became clear why; in a single, swift move, Kanda _caught_ the bullet in between his fingers without even looking. He took a moment to take a breath and look at the offending object before casually throwing the bullet back to him.

And the first greeting they had was him trying to shoot the shit out of Kanda. Yeah. That's pretty weird. And Kanda's response to his action was a simple sentence. "A good shot, but not the best. Keep it up."

 _He actually compliments him from shooting and attempting murder._

That's a short version of why he both fears and respects the Commander.

Now, to the matter at hand… Jack the Ripper, the "Serial Killer", is folklore only recently became popular due to unexplained deaths of five women, probably more, in Whitechapel district. The Templars know better. He is a murderer, a human who sought to become _more_ than just that, and they had speculated he had succeeded, but to ascertain that, they'll have to fight him first. Now David had the opportunity to take him on, one-on-one.

"For a Templar, you look pretty torn up and have this wee bit of recklessness and _filth_ about you, you know." Jack said with a sly grin, taking off his scientist coat, revealing sleeveless shirt made of _human facial skins_. Each had gaping mouths, as if they were screaming, with dried blood here and there. Each faces were stitched together roughly by what David could identify as steel strings.

"That's gross, even by my standard." He mouthed, muscles becoming a little bit tenser. "And yeah, I'm a fucking filth with a bad mouth and trigger happy fucking fingers. Was a raider, you see."

"Unlike me, a nobleman turned, say, _entertainer_ ," The murderer laughed. "I _was_ a noble until I find that live _boring_. So, here I am, taking on a new mantle and ushering myself into this war. As stupid and as irrelevant as it may be, my employers seem to never lack people they need assassinated."

"A noble in name, but not in heart, I see." David said, shooting once just for good measure. This time, the bullet was split in half by the serrated blade which, only just now, did he noticed that they were composed of multiple segments with strings connecting them together. A terrifying weapon; and he had to be more careful around it. He had no way of preventing himself from harm except for dodging.

"What is a noble heart?" Jack asked back, spinning the blade between his fingers nimbly. "Nobility and petty morality are what keep progression and _fun_ away from humanity, you know! Cast those aside, and you'll see what I mean."

"I have done that before." He answered darkly, pulling down his scarf to reveal the mutilated face he abhorred so badly. "And see what it has done me."

"It's because you're weak, idiot."

"Or maybe it's because _petty morality_ you spoke of is the very thing that could have prevented shits from happening, you motherfucking psychopath."

"Not a psychopath," Jack objected, getting into a fighting stance. "There's a different between psychopathy and obsession, you know. I'm not deluded. I don't hear voices telling me what to do, I don't see strange things happening, and I don't see bloody ghosts everywhere. I'm just… _intrigued_ by _deaths!_ "

"Still a psycho in my book."

With that said, David opted for a more unorthodox way of fighting with guns – he spun them with his fingers and used the handle to bash his opponent, and sometimes poking the barrel here and there. You can't shoot down everyone everywhere, so you had to adapt. He back stepped and got himself cornered into the wall. Jack's advances were ferocious, and his clothing now had an obvious effect. Even a veteran of war would be distracted by the awfully horrifying stench of death and the faces of pure terror on that cloth.

He backed rolled to the side at the last minute, and the blade extended at just the right moment. It scratched at his left thigh and brought his blood into his eyes. But he had a vague idea of what would happen next, so he opted for a blind roll. When he managed to get the blood off and see again, the blade was embedded just an inch away from his crouch.

"Lucky dodge!" Jack roared and proceed forward. In such a tight space, David was at an obvious disadvantage. He backed away yet again and fired once, only for his bullet to get cleaved in half. He fired again, then again, and each was deflected with ease.

 _Just like when I challenged Kanda-san. But much better._

He fired again, and this time, he used his Innocence to cheat a little. Well, Jack was an enemy worth using cheats against, after all. By triggering an activation of his dual guns, he can conjured a shadow bullet right behind the shot fired, so the first shot would be a feign attack. And it caught Jack off guard. But his reflex, too quick for a human, allowed him to move his body so that the shadow bullet missed his vital. But it still damaged his neck, missing an artery by a hair's breadth.

"Good reflex, you." He commented, straightening up and holstered one of his guns. The other glowed brightly, and in a moment turned into a double barrel shotgun.

With a sheepish smile, Jack commented, clapping the wound on his neck with his left hand. "Damn you, gunslinger, that's overkill."

"No kill is _overkill_ when it comes to an enemy."

"I'll have to agree with you there."

And now, wielding his shotgun like a fucking club, David engaged Jack the Ripper once more. But the engagement was shot-lived (about two minutes and thirty eight seconds. He was staring at the watch) when the wall between them got broken down and something… like a white _blob_ was blown past it, and through the smoke –

What the flying fuck? "Why the fuck are you here, David?"

"Kanda-san?" He asked, incredulous and gaping like a gold fish. Then he turned his shotgun into a pistol and shot past him, hitting Jack square in the face – rather, it would have, had he not been blocking it skillfully with his blade. "Holy shit, what the fuck was that thing?"

Kanda raised an eyebrow, dodging an attack from Jack and ducked down when a white tentacle went over his head. He cursed colorfully, kicking Jack square in the stomach and turned to look at David. "A Demon. Well, it _should_ , I really don't know how to put it. And who's that I just kicked?"

"Jack the Ripper."

Kanda only nodded and slapped David once in the shoulder. "Keep up the good work. Also, mind his serrated blade. If you got stab, don't pull it out, break it. Oh, and –" He deflected another tentacle and pushed David away, sending them both stumbling slightly as two tentacles swept through the walls. "Fuck this shit. You get that bastard Jack. I'm dealing with this… this…"

"Blob of shit?"

"Yes, that," He agreed and, without further ado, jumped through the wall. David swore he heard the man yelled something about that thing taking ineffective and nightmarish form, and then some more explosions and batshit crazy swearing from both parties were heard.

"They were having fun, I see." Jack recovered, sitting up with a hand on his knee and another on his head. Then he began laughing, hysterically so, his eyes locking in David's like a bird of prey eyeing its victim. "You're also one of those accommodators, right? I see now, that explains the phantom bullet."

"You're quick to pick that up." He commented, ignoring all the sounds from down below and focused on the enemy in front of him. The blade emitted a dark red aura, and his hand began to deform, turning black with sharp-teeth mouths and eyes. "What the fuck are you?"

"A human who embraces the dark." He replied, and before David could take action, he was stabbed through his left forearm. Had he not moved his arm up, it would surely pierced his heart and insta-killed him. "And this human will be the one who take your live with _great pleasure!_ "

Oh, the investigation of a downed Comm Grid just went onto a whole another level.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Sooooo Do you guys like it? Hate it? Fuck me?_**

 ** _Drop a review if you so pleased! :D AND, if you have questions about the lore, I'm more than happy to disclose a few in the next chapter! Just let me know in the reviews or PM if you are interested!_**

 ** _^_^ b_**


	16. Chapter 16

**_This is going to be somewhat of a cut. Throwing a pillow, if you will. But in real life, if an attack didn't succeed, you retreat. Only fools would linger too long :p_**

 ** _Anyways, I must first apologize for my unsteady schedule, but College is quite a bitch when you do_** **not** ** _want it too. Gah, why the WEEKLY fucking ASSIGNMENT._**

 ** _Aside from my ranting, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Cheers! :D_**

 ** _..._**

 ** _Chapter Sixteen: The Attack – Breaking Point_**

 _"_ _Dispersion!_ "

Kanda bellowed as the hot air of freshly burnt flesh blew to him. With a hand raised, the smoke dispersed. But he was a bit late in his defense: Apocryphos had discarded his abomination form and assume a humanoid body, with a hundred eyes and wings formed from thousands of hands, and rushed through to him. His sword, resting on his shoulder this whole time, was brought down to meet the Independent One, only for it to be parried by one of the hands.

His balance shifted, and he noticed it would be too late to avoid a fatal blow if he didn't do something soon. _"Reality Break,_ " He muttered, and the space in between them seemed to shatter, and all appeared as if they were staring at the enemy's image in a broken mirror, stopping the attack mid-air. With a loud hiss of annoyance, the Independent flap his wings, and the sharp nails of one hand literally scratch his left eye out, sending the organ flying to the wall.

And all of these exchanges happened in exactly four seconds.

Most of their time fighting was spent staring at each other and aimed for that tiny opening. None of them yield, and it was usually Kanda still baring-hot temper that forced him to make the first move, and usually the first to have his attacks countered. He lost his left ring and little finger on his first, where he attempted to do a forward stab and got retaliated with a quick lash of one of his bladed tentacles.

The second time was more complicated than that. Long story short, he was, yet again, trying to go for a forward leap and stab him in his biggest eye, only to have his abdomen pierced. Although it missed the aorta and internal organs (how it missed his intestine, he just had no idea), it still _is_ a major pain. And the third time was that last one. He just lost _a fucking eye_ to a _nail_. A _Nail!_ For fuck – no wait, that was his stupidity, not some dumb luck.

Seth, who had formed himself into a six-tailed worm and perched on his shoulder after he lost his fingers, muttered into his ears. "Calm down, Kanda. Rushing things aren't going to make it better."

"I know that." He retorted. Yes, he knew rushing was bad. But Apocryphos was calmer than he is, and only _waited_ for an opening while god knows how many of them were here and attacking them. The damn thing still did _not_ make a first move, and he was really pissed right now. Fuck, why the hell was it so calm? Weren't it trying to rip his head off a while ago?

Maybe safety first strategy won't get him anywhere. With a sigh, he lowered his guard. Seth caught that change of air. "No, Kanda, you don't –"

"Do we look like we have a better choice?"

"But –"

" _Seth_ ," Kanda gritted out, a bit annoyed. "We can't waste our time much longer than this. I'm getting eaten. Literally."

"And going all out will get you swallowed faster." He snarled back. One of his tails enlarged and blocked an incoming chunk of stone, thrown to piss them off by the damnable angel of eyeballs and teeth. With a pause, the tail shrunk back. "But I supposed we don't have much choice now. This looks really bad."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Kanda said to the air, and put Mugen on the ground like a cane, with both his hands resting on the pummel. " _Sangen –Lords of Disparity."_

And he leapt.

This time, black mists followed the path of his sword and turned into shadow blade, extending his reach ten folds and forced Apocryphos to block. When he landed, he wasted no time and went for a wide horizontal arch. Apocryphos jumped out of the sword's reach, as he expected. But when the Innocence was about to retaliate, Kanda's shadow shapeshifted, and a single black lance shot out. Narrowly, it dodged, and flew a few feet away.

Cracking his neck a few times and slapping himself in the ear twice, Kanda made a sound that was much like a groan. "Ow, this. This still hurts."

"Of course it does." Seth reprimanded from the side. "Your body is _not_ ready, nor does your mind. Not to mention the fucking _Taint_ that's in your arm."

"Shut it, _mother_."

"Would it kill you to listen to your partner?"

After a short while of contemplation, "Yes, it actually would."

A huff. "Fuck you."

"Fuck you too, asshat."

Seth's eyes softened, however, as he hovered off Kanda's shoulder and began dissipating. Kanda's one remaining eye remained on the twisted Apocryphos as he morphed his right arm into a grand lance. The six-tailed beast patted his tails on Kanda's head, much to the latter's ire, and said, "Stay safe."

With a rueful smile, Kanda shook his head. "You know I can't do that."

"Still worth trying."

He disappeared completely as the grand lance swept through him, and Kanda had to crouch down low to prevent himself from getting decapitated. But another quick jab followed, and got him in the armpit, hitting brachial artery and the bundle of nerves called brachial plexus, rendering his left arm useless and dangling in an instant. He hissed – fighting this kind of intense battle made it hard to control the regeneration. He had to ignore it and went on the defensive as barrages of attacks continued.

Kanda glanced behind, and saw the room he had to maneuver narrowed all too quickly. The dark of his sword grew like flame, and with a swing it lashed out like a whip, catching Apocryphos off guard and shattered the left side of its head. It roared as its insane regeneration kicked in, wasting not a single second and tried to rush Kanda to death.

He ignored the pain and swung his body, causing his left arm to flail and throw the still-flowing blood into one of Apocryphos' many eyes. It still startled the thing, regardless, and he used this opportunity to thrust his darkness-covered sword into its head, making it roared in pain and flung back. With the sudden shift of weight, Mugen broke, and Kanda had no choice but to step back as the lance-hand swept through thin air.

All of Apocryphos' eyes suddenly shut, and all that remained was the four on its knight-like helmet. He – _it_ – glared at him and mumbled something under its breath as the darkness spread into its head. It wailed in pain again and pulled the blade out without care, tossing it to Kanda's feet. The blade dissolved, the dark fog going to the hilt and reforming Mugen to its former (not so long ago) glory.

" _Sangen_ did quite a job on you, ain't it?" Kanda forced out a grin. He was bluffing, of course, and he doubted Apocrapper would fall for it. There was pain all over his body, and he certainly did not like it. Craning his neck to the sides a few times until there was a satisfying crunch, he muttered. "To be frank, I know you are this good. Always do. But it seems you're doing _way_ better than _"Before"_."

"Speaking nonsense." Apocryphos said, teeth crunching and nails coming off as it clawed at its own helmeted-face, black blood pooled under its taloned feet, its head tainted with black that spreads slowly but steadily. "Die die _die_ , all of you _must die! Taint_ , impure! _Defiler of graves!_ You deserve not to live!"

"And you lost your shit, right there." Kanda commented, mostly to himself. Nothing he said will get through now, probably. Ignoring the skin on his right hand that had begun to peel off as the heat from the darkness intensify, he lifted the sword and rested it on his shoulder to lessen the weight he had to carry about him. "Doesn't seem like you can be called back, too."

"DIE DIE _DIEE!_ "

Apocryphos rushed forward, faster than bullet, and Kanda failed to dodge it in time. He got hit square in the gut, and the force was so great he lurched as blood flew out of his mouth. With a grin, he raised Mugen and stabbed the Independent One at the side of the head, before using his arm strength to throw himself to the side before Apocryphos collided to a large, marble pillar. Only then did Kanda realize they were fighting inside the church, its aisles of wooden benches already scattered from their bouts, and the statue of Jesus on the cross was tainted with blood – his, probably.

The Marble floor was a bit slick, he noted. It made his footing a bit bad, and he had to adjust his weight slightly to keep himself from falling over. With his sword return to his shoulder, Kanda hissed, feeling the cracked ribs and scrambled innards repairing themselves. Well, they _were_ life-threatening, so of course he had to fucking heal it. His left arm, however, was left dangling, numb and lifeless beside his body.

The smoke cleared, and Apocryphos rose from the rubble. It still mumbled something under its breath, quickly and incoherently. It whipped around, its nails – harden and sharp as knives – came flying at him. He parried most of them, but a few got through his guard and struck – one in his sword arm, and the other at his right thigh. He had no time to inspect the wounds as the twisted angel lunged at him, his hands missing Kanda's one remaining eye by only a hairbreadth. With a curse, he swung his sword, the darkness increased its reach, and caught Apocryphos' ankle by surprise.

He swung again, and this time he got one wing. The black flame engulfed the appendage, which was swiftly disposed of by an unceremonious tear. The Japanese smiled and commented, "You sure are decisive in battle."

"Thirteen,"

"Hmm?"

" _There are thirteen of you_." Apocryphos pointed out, head craning in a very wrong and unnatural way, its ten eyes (why do the eyes always change in number?) of different shape and size staring into his very soul. Or, _their_ very souls, rather. "You only use four. Are you looking down on _us_?"

"Us, huh?" He murmured before returning its accusation with a lofty grin. "Nah, I ain't looking down on you. I simply don't have intentions to spoil you the _fun_ I have up my sleeves, is all."

"Then you will regret it!"

And, to put it simply, he did.

That rush was so strong that, even when he could parry it, still sent his arm flailing to the side and left him wide open. He didn't even have time to ponder on anything when its strong arm _ripped_ two of his ribs out of his body. Kanda could only stare in disbelief as blood poured out and sprayed on the ground just below his feet. The pain suddenly rose, and he had to bite his own tongue to hold it down. He shifted his footing, and it proved fatal when his own blood made him slip.

Apocryphos used this very moment to bury its other arm inside Kanda's torso, lifting him off the ground. He coughed out a lot more blood (and he had to wonder how his body could keep producing so much blood to replace the loss) and felt his body no longer complying with his will. Apocryphos looked up at him, with that damnable crooked smile.

"You underestimated me."

"I sure did." He croaked out, smiling to himself. He didn't underestimate it, but rather, he couldn't fight Apocryphos while using the Taint, because the pain made his judgement – even if it's for a fraction of a second – fatally slower than it should.

 _I guess I have no choice._

He summoned the last of his strength, and shifted his focus inward, keeping his mind straight and his thoughts intact. He felt something stir, and with a laugh, he mumbled, "You mind taking the stage, Uriel?"

A beating of wings, a ringing of bells – that's all he heard when a voice reply.

 _Took you long enough, my liege_ ,

From the blinding light that engulfed the room, a being a foot higher than him, covering in white, golden-trimmed cloak and golden steel armor, stood before him, separating him (unceremoniously) from Apocryphos, now too damaged to reason and repair. His steel golden wings expanded, and in his hand was a great hammer made of pure gold. He looked at Kanda, blue dots of light shimmering through the small cracks in his helm that were his eyes.

Kanda smirked, and managed only for the angel – Uriel – to hear. "You damn show-off. Welcome back."

"It's good to be on the stage again." He commented, turning his attention to the twisting and darkening Apocryphos.

He raised his hammer, pointing it at the Independent Innocence.

"Let's settle this, you dishonorable piece of shite."

…

Cross was definitely taken aback when he learnt Dahlia knew about that thing, Apocryphos.

He, and surprisingly Allen too (ignore Link, he's just a goddamn shadow that follows Allen _everywhere_ ), came to visit Dahlia and Hevlaska quite often, mostly out of curiosity and, in Allen's case, added with a bit of unknown force drawing him to her. Mostly, they chat about trivial things, like their days or the likes. He usually stayed later than Allen does, so sometimes he asked her about the things he needed confirmation. First was "Neah", who she told Cross she knew only from telling from a "Certain Someone".

Then there's the Independent Innocence, who thought he was the enemy and had been, although subtly, trying to kill him once in a while. She seemed a bit uncomfortable at first, but he waited. A week had passed, and she seemed to want to share it with him and Allen. That's fine, considering that the boy had Neah's "Memory", becoming one of that thing's many targets were not all at all surprising.

"Apocryphos had the Heart's fragment of power, so he is able to influence almost every Innocences that existed." She said, her wings twitched slightly, her eyes glaring holes at the wall. But, wait –

" _Almost?_ " Allen was the one to ask what he had meant to. And that glint in his eyes – he seemed to have known about Apocryphos for a time now. Cross wondered why. "Why is it _almost?_ "

"There are two he cannot control." She said. "He cannot control an Innocence that had no soul –" her gaze shifted somewhere else, and she had bit back whatever she was going to say next "– the other one he had absolutely no power over is the "Royal Aegis"."

"Royal Aegis? The _Symbol of the King?_ " Cross translated automatically. He had never heard that title before, not even from Neah, who supposedly knew shits a lot more than he did. "And who might that be?"

"That, I do not know." She said, shaking her head. "But I do know that the Royal Aegis is someone chosen by Regulus, Paladin of Old. Legend has it he is a Paladin from time of the Great Flood. No one knows what form he is taking now, so… anyone – but _him_ (Cross still doesn't know who she was referring to) – can be the Royal Aegis."

"Goddamnit, why do you people always make things _complicated_?" Cross groaned out and banged his head on the nearest railing. Dahlia only stared at the display, and Allen was kind of uncomfortable.

"Maybe it was for his safety, and the safety of his accommodators." She finally replied. "Think this; if your enemies know you're the Royal Aegis, would they stay where they are, or would they be actively searching for you? That much is obvious. If the Royal Aegis is killed, then there is no one who would stand a chance against Apocryphos – at least for a while. But we both know even a day's absence could mean defeat."

"…True enough."

"Aside from that, the Royal Aegis has one duty."

"Which is?"

"To succeed the throne, should the Heart fell."

Cross pondered on this. Succeed the throne, she said… which means; "Does that mean the Heart and the Royal Aegis can always be replaced?"

"Yes." She confirmed his theory. Then she looked up, frowning slightly, before dismissing whatever had come to her attention and continuing on with her story. "But the Heart had never been found, and if he is truly dead, then all Innocence should feel it. This affirms that he has not yet fall. But the Royal Aegis had changed once. The first was before the Great Flood, and the Innocence who was the Symbol of Kings died, so the title of Royal Aegis was transferred to Regulus, the Golden Lion."

"Lion, you say…" Cross mumbled, crossing his arms and let himself plunged deep into his thoughts. From what Neah had told him, the Templar's leader – Grandmaster Richard Lionheart – had a golden lion as his Coat of Arms. Perhaps –

"But from what I had known, not once in the past thousand years had he chose a worthy accommodator to bear his true power."

Well, there goes his speculation. _Again_.

"So, he will show up when he wants to?"

"Exactly."

"That's kind of selfish." Allen added from the side, arms crossed and frowning so deep his brows couldn't have become any closer. "Even for an Innocence who had little control of his body."

"Royal Aegis isn't a name weak-heart humans can bear." She said. "If you're weak, his power will kill you instantaneously, _if you're lucky_."

Master and disciple shivered at this. After they thought on it for a while, it was Cross who spoke first. "So, we'll have to wait until the Royal Aegis emerged to combat Apocryphos? What about the other one, the Innocence that has _no soul_? Who's that? Did you know?"

After a pregnant pause, she nodded. "Yes. The one who bears the Hollow has already awakened."

"And who is it?"

"…I'm afraid I cannot tell you." She murmured quietly, barely audible even from such close proximities they were in. Before any of them spoke further however, the elevator came down, and they all stared wide-eye.

Lavi was heaving badly, his right hand bleeding profusely, his scarf stained with blood from –

"Supervisor!" Link exclaimed, rushing to both injured men and took Komui – now only half conscious – away from Lavi and hauled him over to the readied Dahlia. She spread her wings wide, and once Link settled him down in front of her, she started _breathing life_ into him.

"What the – Lavi, what happened?" Allen asked, a hand on Lavi's shoulder, his eyes watching the shaking hand, blood-soaked and unable to move much. The older looked up, letting out a shaky breath,

"I don't know. I and Yuu were attacked in the Library –" Allen wanted to ask about that attack, but Cross stopped him "– Yuu fended them off while I went to Komui's office, and he's already stabbed. It missed the artery, but still life-threatening if not treated. I heard Dahlia-chii's healing abilities, so I think it's the safe bet." Inhale. "Have you seen Yuu?"

"No, not yet," Allen shook his head. But if what Lavi had told him was true, there's a good chance Kanda was still fighting. He'll need to aid him. "Alright, you stay here and get that wound looked at. I'll go –"

"Don't."

Dahlia's commanding voice stopped him mid-track. She glanced up at him, her mouth still spewing out greyish mist that slowly stopped the bleeding. Komui stirred a little, seemingly regaining his conscious.

"Why?" He shot back. "If he's still fighting, I need to –"

"You will only hold him down, young one."

"What did you mean? He's –"

"Listen to her, Allen."

Cross interrupted with a growl, a hand grabbing at his arm almost too painfully. The General glared at his apprentice until he backed down and willing to listen to reason, and when he does, Dahlia spoke in his place. "Thank you, General. Surely, you have noticed?"

"It's all about the environment." Cross said, letting go of the boy's hand. Link, who had been speculating at the sideline, only nodded solemnly. "Crown Clown isn't something you'd use indoor properly. Your flashiness will only reduce your footing by destroying things. He can harness his power more efficiently than you in close quarters, like a room or a corridor. Right now, we just need to contact the others and let them know about this."

After a long pause, Allen muttered, "You're right," and looked away. But Cross, he left out that bits – he knew Kanda was stronger than Allen thought he was. Maybe as strong as Cross is, or better, even. He didn't know, but his guts told him so. And his guts never failed, not even once.

Kanda Yuu… that man is hiding something big.

"So, what we're going to do now is two of you – yes, you, Lavi – will remain here to guard Komui. You blondie CROW – you erect some kind of barrier around here. I'll go check things on the topside." Cross ordered, and before he stepped onto the elevator, Lavi warned him.

"Jack the Ripper is up there. He's certainly not human, and he's fighting that guy – the lipless one named David." He quickly murmured those words out. Cross took a moment to take it in and nodded before riding the elevator up, Judgement drawn from his holster and ready to fire.

He didn't check if those two would listen to him, and he didn't think they would, but Dahlia probably did, and she would rein them in for him. He shook his head once; he needed to focus on what's happening right now. Someone idiotic enough had staged some kind of attack, and they – whoever the fuck they were – are smart. To target the very man that binds all of them together, and to cut means of communications beforehand. But to be able to do both, they need to have at least information about the layouts of the Order and how the Comm systems work.

That means there's at least an inside mole.

When he arrived at the top, he saw sparks flashing from the other end of the hallway. And as he walked brisky through the narrow corridor, he saw two obvious _holes_ – as if something, or someone, had been blasted through the walls – and spray of blood on the ground. Well, ain't this peachy. But he was spared no more time to ponder on things when a bullet whistled by his head.

"Move, General!" Someone bellowed from the darkness, and before he knew it, he was tackled through the hole and dropped down onto another, larger, darker corridor. When he peered up, it was a man whose lower face was covered by black scarf, and fedora hat (now all dusty and with multiple blade holes). The man nodded sharply. "Sorry for the tackle, General."

"Why the _fuck_ did you do that?" He asked, slightly angered, and then fired at the shadow that peered at them from above. It was this man, with jacket made from _human faces_ , and heterochromatic eyes. "What the hell?"

"Another one joins us, I see." He said, licking the blood off of his blade. Only then did Cross see that David was stabbed at his left clavicle. Good thing that it missed his artery. "But it makes no different. You sure are _sucker_ than what the urban legends told you to be, Mister Black."

"And your legends precede you," He shot back, a revolver held up and readied, its muzzle pointed at the man – must be Jack the Ripper. "Someone told me you're no longer human. I don't see any of that."

"Because you're too, let's say, _feeble_ for me to use it on you." He laughed. "It was one of my game's rules, per se, where I give my opponents fair fights."

"You're just plain lookin' down on me, ain't cha?"

"That's one way to put it."

"Haha… hahaha!" David laughed, the guns in his hands started to set ablaze with green light. He pulled down his scarf to reveal his lipless face, teeth perfectly lined in curves of his jaws, and he opened his mouth wide, the non-existent corner of his mouth twisted into a sadistic smile. "Of course, of course you would! So going half-assed on you won't cut it, huh!?"

And barrages of bullets hailed upon Jack the Ripper. Unlike Cross, who relied on his Innocence's Tracking Power to run his targets down without aiming, this man just let loose rains of leads upon his foes. And from the perfect, round holes in the wall, Cross could tell that his Innocence had penetration powers that rival his own. But, to his surprise, Jack dodge half of those, while the other half were cut down by his bloodied, rusty serrated blade.

With a laugh, he spun his guns in b'twixt his fingers, and let loose another hail without fail. This time, there were more bullets, faster speed, more impact, that Jack cannot parried them all, and some of the bullets managed to slip through and hit him square between the eyes. The barrages stopped, and David, once again, pulled up his scarf and offered Cross – still dumbstruck and on the floor, mind you – a hand. "Can you stand, General?"

"Of course I can, idiot," He snapped, but took the hand regardless. Jack the Ripper laid there, blood pooling 'neath his head, still as a rock. "This is a bit Cheesy, I comin' up all the way here to see the scores settled."

"Sorry for the disappointment, then." He muttered, "This guy is a handful, and trust me, _he_ is our worst match-up."

"With that crazy dodges and parries, I'll have to agree with you on that." The red-haired said, rubbing his chin. "Say, what the fuck happens?"

"Someone stages an attack to take out Supervisor Komui." He replied, still spinning his guns at a stunning speed. "And they attacked Kanda-san because they knew he _is_ someone who could thwart the attack single-handedly."

"I had a feelin' he is strong." Cross murmured. "But is he _that_ strong?"

A sideway glance, and, "Yes,"

"Where is he, then?"

"Fighting something, I dunno what." David replied, and he seemed earnest enough that Cross was willing to let it go. But from the looks of it, things were direr than he had originally thought. David continued almost too silently, his knees a bit wobbly at this point. "Other than that, we have to gather 'round everyone, wait for my superiors to fix the shitty Comms, and then…"

"Let's not think too far ahead, for now," Cross cut him off. "Well then –"

"– Let us continue this dance of death, eh?"

Cross felt a sharp pain, and when he looked back with shock, a serrated blade was embedded into his back, its wielder now spotting a wide, inhuman grin as rows of teeth formed from the corner of his mouth to his ears. His appearance became horrendous as his skin greyed out; the bullet in his head slowly got pushed and dropped to the ground. He was frozen into place as Jack, who should have been dead, rose and turned into a fucking monster.

He kicked Cross off of his blade and licked it with longer, thinner, snake-like tongue with sizzling sound as his blood touched it. His eyes became hollowed, like a dried skull, with red dots in place of eyes. His hair turned white and brittle, falling past his shoulder, and the face-shirt turned into elongated cloak with those poor souls' faces stretched long and emitting horrible screams. Cross stumbled backward, and David let out a groan as he drew out his gun, setting ablaze anew.

The serrated blade turned into serrated scythe, and he swung it around experimentally, as if it was the first time he held on to such weapon. Then, with a crackling of bones, he opened his mouth wide to let out a hiss, like a snake shooing away its enemy. "And now you have, my _dear boys_ , angered me to the point of no return."

"So you succeeded, huh?" David asked, nudging Cross' foot, urging him to scoot back a bit further away. But he had already hit the fucking wall. "So our speculations were true. You indeed have given up your humanity."

"Smart bunches, you lots," Jack mumbled. One of the faces screamed, and from its mouth came forth dark fluid that shapeshifted and bore a unique stench of death and disease.

His instincts kicked in, and he (and surprisingly the pain-in-the-noggins David the Cowboy, as well) leaped away just a second before the liquid turned into skeletal monsters that wailed, with the look of pain in its muscle-less face, and slammed the ground before it with thin, stick-like arms. If they had been hit by that, they'd have got crushed like the ground underneath.

And, to their horrors, more of those ghost-skeleton monsters appeared, each detached from the faces and stood up, each wield different weapons – sickles, brass knuckles, muskets, swords, chains, morning stars, you named it. And there were more than ten in total.

With a sadistic grin, Jack laughed,

"Now let's see how you'd fare against my Legion of the Dead, brats!"

Oh, what the fuck is all this?

…..

Even with two people, one who excels in speed and the other who took pride in his sheer strength, they could not bested Apocryphos.

Kanda had a hard time escaping every attack. Losing one eye mean his Depth-of-Field perception got fucked. You wouldn't notice if you were blinded in the beginning or used to using one eye (ie, Lavi the Idiot), but for him, it might very well be worse than losing an arm (which he did, by the way). Because, in this kind of fight, losing the ability to _precisely_ judge the _depth_ of the attacks, the delusion that the tip of the sword was one centimeter away when in fact it was right at his face meant he lost his opportunity to evade and counter, and instead got fucked in the face.

Luckily enough, Uriel _is_ an excellent partner, and he made up for any slips he had made by jumping in and forced Apocryphos back a step or two. His great hammer, shaped like two bells being glued together with three thin frames covering it horizontally, is sturdy enough to block his swords and lances and what-ever-the-fuck that got thrown his way while receiving minimal damage. And it is indeed a fitting weapon for Uriel, who swung it so fluidly as if he was dancing and hurled it around as if it had no weight at all. Each swing bore a power of at least half a ton or more, and one strike was enough to crack all the bones in Apocryphos' arm.

Unfortunately, that thing had insane regenerative abilities. Whatever parts of its body they tore down, he'd just patched himself back together. But he noticed it was at a slower rate than the beginning, so at least they're _kind of_ getting somewhere.

Except, Kanda was too worn out, and continuing for much longer is nigh _impossible_.

His left arm was numb, but the pain from the red crystals he dubbed the Taint was becoming unable to be ignored, and it started crawling and creeping its way over to his shoulder now. He felt his eyes (correction, _eye_ ) twitched, once in a while. Uriel sensed it, too (well, they technically _share a body_ – or, what the hell ever… It's difficult to explain), and he was more worried than Kanda ever was or will be.

He spun, the darkness engulfing his sword shortly and burst out the instant it cut through the air before Apocryphos. Instead of backing off, he advanced, only to get his face smashed in by the steel Guardian of Light. When the hammer hit him, the bell rung, its sound similar to those found in churches. To most, it might seem pointless, but the sound served as darkness dispeller, and doubled as weak stun-grenade (of sort).

Uriel hammered Apocryphos' ass again, only for it to regenerate _again_.

"My liege, really," He said, with an annoyed huff, "This is a terrible match-up. Unless we can find its weakness, we'll be worn out before _it_ does."

"I did see a glimpse of something," Kanda said, stepping back to avoid an enlarged arm sweeping through the marbles. "A cube, when you smashed his head into the stone. Did you see that?"

"Indeed I have." Uriel replied, putting the end of his hammer's long handle into the ground, producing a ringing of bell, interrupting Apocryphos' madden assaults shortly, and took that opportunity to do a full strength home-run on it, splattering its white (with a black taint at the head) onto the wall. And, in that moment, they both saw a glimpse of tiny black cube –

It was quickly covered by Apocryphos' white flesh, and in the next instant Uriel's reflex kicked in, moving his hammer up high in the air and slammed it down. Having learned his lesson, Apocryphos dodged – just barely –only for Kanda to lunge at him with sword in hand. The Japanese made a complete-circle swing, darkness expanding his reach and cleaved off both of the damn thing's feet clean off, toppling it over.

Without delay, Kanda sprung forth, whirling mid-air to increase his already high momentum and slammed his sword vertically downward, missing its head by an inch. The Innocence's smile was not long, because only then did it realize Kanda's attack was just a feint. The bell-like hammer appeared from the dust clouds and separated both of its wing from its body in one go. With it stumbling forward, Uriel made the most logical decision;

He ditched his hammer and went bare-handed on the son of a bitch, his gigantic grip strength tearing at Apocryphos' flesh. With a heave, he ripped off the Innocence's lance-arm off and used it to bat the other arm into oblivion. It glared at Uriel, only to have its eyes (about three, Uriel presumed) gouged out by the darkness at the tip of Kanda's sword. With another spinning, the Japanese landed a solid stab on its feet, stopping its movement momentarily.

Kanda then snapped the hilt of his sword away from the blade and _shoved_ it into the gaping eye socket before putting his hand above it. Apocryphos did not understand at first, of course, and nor did Uriel until he saw that flicker of ember. He panicked and shouted. "Barrier of Light!"

He covered Kanda's hand with shield of golden light only a second before the explosion occurred, sending Kanda flying with his right hand tattered and burnt up. He swung himself mid-air and landed on his feet, sliding a long way until he almost hit a pillar. He then created sword out of ice – the power of the Lords of Disparity – into his badly damaged hand, his face winced slightly at the sharp pain. He ignored it.

The explosion had exposed the Innocence's core, a black cube the size smaller than a fist. Apocryphos looked on with mild terror as its blown-off brain finally stitched together and slowly processed –

"Gotcha, you _son of a bitch!_ " Kanda gnarled, reverse-gripping his sword and threw it like a spear. Apocryphos moved in time for the cube to avoid getting split in two, but a good chunk of it was separated from the main cube. A long, agonizing wail followed, and Apocryphos forcefully pulled the ice-blade out and threw it back at Kanda, a bit too fast, and he got stabbed at the same place where his ribs were torn out, sending him stumbling back and hacking out some more blood.

Without pause, Uriel (not disregarding Kanda's safety, but he was trained well enough to know where to put his priorities) lunged, aiming his hammer for the remaining hunk of Innocence. But he was too slow, as Apocryphos grew out three large arms to crawl out of his wrath and dropped itself down from the tower into the woods below. Being a slow, hard-hitting player, he failed to follow. When he poked his head out, Apocryphos had already grown a pair of wings and flew off.

He sighed and turned back at Kanda, who had pulled out the blade and was now grabbing his left arm tightly, teeth gritted and grinning too sardonically at the growing, _gnarling_ red crystals. He put the end of his hammer's handle on the floor to ease its weight (not that it really meant anything to him). With a concern look, he asked, "My lord, your arm –"

"It's fine, it's fine," Kanda murmured under his breath, mindful as he got up from where he was on the ground, his arm trembled terribly, and his face was scrunched up in pain. He reached into his coat and brought out a stack of CROWs' spell tags (also nick-named _feathers_ by the Templars) and threw them into the air. Using his right hand to form the CROWs' hand sign, he mumbled almost inaudibly. " _Hidden Technique: The Devil's Binding."_

The Feathers twirled around his arm and covered it from middle of his arm down to his fingertips, leaving only his deltoid regions and his shoulder visible.

Uriel raised an unseen eyebrow beneath his helmet. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. The "Raven", a part of the Templar Order that was the origin of the CROW units, was known to spread their skills among the knights, although only few managed to succeed it due to its difficulty. "I did not know you can use Raven's spell, my lord."

"Well, now you know." Kanda shrugged, his left hand reached up to touch his gouge-out eye. "And these wounds aren't healing any time soon. Fighting that thing really is bad for my health."

"Without the Royal Aegis to help you, at least."

"Hmph." Kanda grunted, looking elsewhere. "We can attend to my wounds later. Now…Jack the Ripper, aye?"

There was a pause from Uriel's side, his blue eyes glaring down at his feet, then to the far-side wall. "Aye. He's the only one left."

"Then your part is done, Uriel. You're free to rest."

Uriel made a noise of protest. "I wanna fight."

"Or you can go _fuck yourself_ ," Kanda spat sarcastically before laughing it off and patted his arm softly. "I'll be fine, friend."

That did nothing to reassure to Guardian of Light, but he let it slide as Kanda deactivated Sangen and opted for Ichigen – Terrifying Presence alone. It then occurred to the Guardian that humans can get affected quite seriously by Kanda's _Ichigen_ , since the Devourer's icy cold aura could halt any man's both movements and thoughts quite effectively.

"…then I shall take my leave." Uriel said, bowing once and slammed his hammer to the ground, creating the church-like bell sound one more time, sending the warm ringing of life throughout the Black Order. "The rest of the exorcists seemed to have assembled and wait for Komui's orders. Cross and David are fighting Jack."

"And losing." Kanda finished with a snort. "What a shame."

"And losing _miserably_." Uriel affirmed. "Stay safe, my liege."

"And you, friend."

After Uriel turned into particles, Kanda opened his palm and recreated Mugen from its broken pieces, eyes dark and unreadable. He sighed quietly to himself and put the sword on his shoulder, his left arm still dangling uselessly, with new burning sensation which was way more intense than what was before. He knew this is going to happen, he just hadn't expected…

He shook his head and hopped down from the hole Apocryphos had made by being flung into the wall. Kanda hissed as the wound in his legs arched. Well, that's one more added to the list. He looked around, and upon hearing rapid gunfire, he headed that way.

His pain, his curse, he can deal with later. This cannot.

Upon entering the room, it was bare, with only a heaving Cross and a bleeding David, crumbled on the ground with signs of sharp weapons engraving its blade all over the floors and pillars. He gave David a quizzical look. "What the fuck happened here, dude?"

"And what the fuck happened to _you_ , Kanda?" Cross shot back, flipping his body with one hand and laid on his back. He then managed, between pants and coughs, "Fuck if I know. That thing said _'My accomplice has fled. So should I, I supposed_ ' and just disappeared into thin air!"

David sighed. "Maybe it's the blob you're dealin' with, sir. What happ'n?"

"I drove it away." Kanda gave him a shrug, walked over to the two of them, and sat down crossed-leg with his sword resting on his shoulder. "I can't kill it, nor can it kill me. So, after a long stalemate, the thing _blew the wall_ into a hole, sprout a pair of wings, and fly away."

"Good grief, why can't the war be _that simple?_ " Cross groaned.

It's true. Kanda wished the war could've been simpler.

"Well, now that the invasion's over, time to clean the mess up, eh?"

...

 ** _Now it's finished! Enjoy! Tahaha!_**

 ** _And I think I might rewrite Chapter One and a few more, just to add a bit of details. I just realized how little I've put. My whole plan was much grander than this!_**

 ** _Cheer! And see you when the sun arise!_**

 ** _Praise the Sun! \\[T]/_**


	17. Chapter 17

**_I know I promised you guys for some rewrites to make this story better, but I had no time D: The exam (again) had passed (finally!), so I'm able to put this in down for you guys. Some softie chapter amidst the storm! :D_**

 ** _ALERT: HYPU FOR TYPU (O) AHEAD_**

 ** _Please read and review! :D_**

 ** _..._**

 ** _Chapter Seventeenth: Discovery_**

The Communication Network was restored shortly the trio arrived back into the Innocence chamber. Kanda only shrugged when asked, while neither David nor Cross spoke, but Lavi had assumed the two or three of them must've fought the bastard and forced him back.

Kanda was bruised and battered, and when questioned about the CROWs' spell tags on his arm, he only shrugged and changed the subject. Dahlia had healed Lavi's and Komui's wounds quite splendidly, albeit some of the minors details still needed to be taken care of by the doctors. Lenalee was worried sick and almost bashed his (and Komui's) head in with a clipboard, while she refrained herself from doing so to Kanda, who had been put into a long lecture by Clara, the woman with a foul mouth.

Lvellie tried to pry deeper into the matter, but another group of Central's higher ups showed up and blocked his way, saying that this matter will be personally looked into by the Pope. Lavi doubted it had something to do with Kanda's connection to the Swiss Guard, but that, he can dug out later. A footnote, though; it's fun watching Lvellie yelling his ass out trying to use his superiority to grant him access, only to get slapped in the face by the symbol of the Pope.

Kanda went to inspect his wounds in another room, while the rest of them brain-stormed in another, with Lavi had the remnants of his hand's wound sutured up. They discussed about Jack the Ripper first; how he got in, who were his accomplices. They concluded the man must be one of those new things; an Exceed. It seemed an Exceed is exceedingly (the pun! Hah… hah… okay, he's going to stop doing that now) hard to kill, although, from Lavi's photographic memory, he can be harmed by non-Innocence. There was a shard of stone that grazed his face when Lavi was saved.

And the fact that he can outwitted and overwhelmed Cross with such ease made them rethink everything they've known. Although by far, this is the only one Exceed they've met, being forced to fight even one during missions can proved fatal. Dahlia offered to help them train, but she said she had to wait for Kanda's opinion on the matter, first.

It seemed to be a slip of tongue that brought out more questions.

Komui seemed to know Kanda knew _something_ , David definitely did, Cross suspected those three as much as Lavi was, and everything seemed to make eye contacts or normal conversations with them _jittery_. Kanda's avoidance of any confrontations was a dead giveaway that he was keeping his mouth shut _for some reason_. And David…

Speaking of David Black, he had just barged out of Kanda's hospital door, engaging in a heated argument with Clara. They spoke in Russian, and he could only catch so much of the contents. Although he did pick up some – nah, scratched that – a _lot_ of insults from both of them. They drew everyone's attentions on them, and things seemed to escalate quickly. She raised her hand in an attempt to slap David, while the latter drew out his gun.

"Why the fuck are you trying to _kill_ each other, dimwits?"

Kanda interrupted them both, with chilly air clinging about him, his arms crossed – his left now covered in white bandages with intricate markings and his whole torso wrapped up in white gauzes. David lowered his gun first, hissed, and was about to stomp away. Something made him paused. Clara reluctantly lowered her hand. "We're not _killing_ each other, Kanda. This is just another day at work, remember?"

Kanda's brows furrowed further. He glanced at Lavi, who still had his wound attended to, while Komui was already up and (hesitantly, by the Head Nurse) discharged. His dark eyes traced back to the two and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You two are _idiots_ , you know that? Why the fuck would you be saying _those things_ in front of _these people?"_

"No one in here speaks _Russian_ ," Clara defended herself.

David saw ominous warning, and grabbed Clara by the shoulder. "Stop it, Clara, he's not going to –"

She slapped his hand off. "Shut it, you shite. Now, I know for a _fact_ that no one in here is proficient in Russian! That's why we _used_ it! You're being –"

"Get the fuck out of here and do that somewhere else." Kanda gritted out, his eyes now flashed dangerously. "They need rest. So do I. If you're going to fight, _fight in private_."

"You're changing the subject, Kanda! Admit it –"

She paused midway when Kanda's fist started to clench. The man cracked his neck and walked past her briskly, sitting down next to Komui, his chin rested on his bandaged hand. Lavi didn't know what happened, but the blonde's face paled considerable. She and her companion uttered not another word before they rushed out the exit, leaving most present dumbstruck.

"…Sorry about that." Kanda began, a little embarrassed. "They're just like me and the Beansprout –"

" _Shut up_ , BaKanda –"

"And I admit _I_ am as annoying as they are." Kanda quickly cut Allen off, sighing and face-palming himself. "Anyway… how's the wound, Komui?"

"I just got discharged, although I needed to _not_ overwork. Haha." He inserted a terrible laughter there, scratching the back of his neck. All eyes were on him now, with that air of murder thick above their heads. "… Not that I actually _work_ or anything, eh… well, yeah, that."

"Place some emergency communication golems around you and use a more _private_ channel next time." He scowled slightly, rubbing his index finger across his chin as he spoke. "And you, Lavi."

Lavi hummed in response, winching slightly as the needle passed his skin.

"Good job reaching Komui in time."

Allen's jaw dropped, Lenalee let go of her clipboard, Marie chuckled and a whole bunches of different things happened at once. Kanda, whose eyes were closed sometime during then, pried open one eye and leant his head against the wall.

"Did you just –"

"He definitely _did_! He just praised _me_! _Praise_! _Me!_ " Lavi exclaimed.

"I certainly did not mishear that." Marie said.

"Brother, he really did just –"

"Yes, everyone here heard him."

"Finally! _Yuu-kun_ is being _nice!_ "

" _STOP IT!"_

Kanda shouted exasperatedly, slamming his head back against the brick wall and caused a small crack. Everyone did, although some let slipped a snicker or two. He sighed, slapping himself hard enough to leave a trail of a palm and five fingers (his left hand regenerated, luckily). He really forgot what he was like when he was – _is_ , ah fuck it, talking about time travel is bullshittingly and dreadfully confusing – IN THE OTHER FUCKING TIMELINE.

Huh… he's going to just let this all slip by. He's too tired for these bullshits anyway. "So, if that's it, I'm going to talk to Dahlia about the training plan or something. Be seein' ya, dimwits."

He heard Lavi and Komui called for him to stop, but he paid them no mind as he ascended the stair and headed for his room.

His arm ached. It's worse now. The crystal remained the same, what's new are little texts, forming into lines and tattoos, that covered from his shoulder down to the tip of his fingers. He gave his left arm some experimental moves, earning him a few cracks and a jolting pain up to his head. Kanda had been, say, _infected_ like this once, albeit that was right before he was kicked over to this new dimension. Fuck if he knows how it progresses.

But from the look of things, it's pretty obvious he's going to be swallowed whole and die while writhing in agony.

Bah! Like he's letting that happening.

Once he reached his room, he took his second golem – with a rather obvious Cross Pattee in place of its eyes – out from the drawer and gave it a tap. The buzzing stopped, and a voice came over after a few seconds. _"Isaac here."_

"Good, you're present." Kanda grunted, dropping down on his bed, his face planted firmly on his pillow. He exhaled loudly once. "Dammit, this hurts like fuck."

 _"_ _Is this about the Taint?"_ The other sounded concern. He's the only one Kanda actually came 100 percent clean about the whole infection and the Taint thing – even Clara didn't have that kind of _privilege._ _"Do you need the seals on your arm done again?"_

"It'll hold for now." Kanda said to the pillow. "There's actually one thing I want you to do."

 _"_ _Certainly. What is it?"_

"You remember my plan about the throne, right?"

There was a tense silence. The throne, the Heart… Kanda and Seth had made a proper plan up for it. But that's a secret. The only reasons he even disclosed this information to Isaac because he trusted him, and he had no other choices. Even the other Inner Sanctum didn't know about his true goal.

Ah, he was getting off-track. Isaac coughed, closing the doors and windows and walked to somewhere else, voided of any sound. As cautious as always, the man. _"Yes. Is there a rush, or something?"_

Kanda's dark eyes moved to his arm, trembling slightly. "Yeah. It doesn't seem like we're going to have the luxury of waiting for all twelve of the Void Walkers to awake. We'll need to speed things up… a little, mayhaps."

 _"_ _How much faster are we talking about?"_

"Deadline's in _months_."

Another silence. _"…Kanda, what the hell happened?"_

He only grinned sardonically, even if the other cannot see it. He propped himself up on his elbow and sighed. "You already know the answer. Why bother asking?"

 _"_ _I'm hopeful."_

"You're being Naïve, man."

 _"_ _I know. Still worth trying."_

A chuckle. "You sounded just like the damn worm."

 _"_ _I know."_ Isaac murmured, and let the air fell on both their heads. Kanda only stared at the golem, waiting for the other to speak up. After what seemed like eternity, he did. _"What do you need?"_

He smiled, and explained the preparations _he_ is going to need for the Heart and the throne.

And he just knew everyone else that called him their "friends" would kill him as soon as his scheme came to light.

…..

The Earl was perplexed to hear that Apocryphos was the one to offer aid.

He knew that thing _is_ one of his mortal enemies, the most unpredictable and plotting one, but he hadn't realized it had implanted itself that deep into the heart of the Order. And he had certainly seen Kanda Yuu fighting it, on par even, and drove it away. That man is a mystery, and Apocryphos' motive is vaguer that he had originally imagined.

Not only that, Jack the Ripper is one of those deviated Akumas, Exceed ones they are called. He never truly had control over them, and they were clear they did _not_ serve his will. There seems to be someone else behind all of this, which makes the Earl curious.

Kanda's words still rang through his mind, though. He said they weren't really enemies. And what about this Puppeteer? Those three he sent to gather any information regarding that had found out little, only local legends. Hmm, maybe it's time to call for another path…

He quickly brought out his greatsword and swung to his left, hitting nothing but empty air. There was a presence in his office, unmistakably so. But he had missed. The Earl snarled and put his sword on the ground, muscles on his arm tensed and ready for a full swing. He then shifted again, poking at his right, for the sword to get stopped by a silver gauntlet.

The purple eyes that shone under the hood, crackling with the sound of thunder, he had seen it several times before – twice in his dreams, sometimes as phantoms scouting his manor. He hissed once. "What are you?"

"As I thought, you are as good as the other one." It said, slowly lowering its arm. The Earl didn't wish to fight, because if it – whoever or whatever it is – is an enemy, he would have been attacked by now. It's as if this knight of thunder was waiting for him to notice.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

"A catalyst, I supposed you can say." It mumbled, bowing slightly. "Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Raijin, the Revenant of Lightning."

True to its title, its whole body seemed to be empowered by thunder, ominous in essence yet calm and warm. The Earl's eyes narrowed further. No wonder it could get through the barriers. All the spells did was informing him and the other Noahs should a human entered. It is _not_ a human. "Who are you working for then? And what's your purpose here?"

"You know who I serve." It said with what seemed like a grin in its eyes. "Do not attack me. But I am a loyal servant of master Kanda –"

"…That accursed Second Exorcist?"

"Yes." It affirmed. Strangely enough, the Earl was not surprised. "We forgive you for attacking the Order. A one month old order is hard to call back, I should think. Even if it's not so, you have not your memories back, so we can still call it… an accident, I should say."

"You know I sent them?" He asked back. He was strangely relieved that he was forgiven. Actually, he had already forgotten sending an assassination squad, but hey, whatever works. He was more interested, however, in the failure to conceal his status as an Employer. "Are those guys a bunch of idiots?"

"…It has nothing to do with their intelligence." It answered. "It's _our_ specialty to bring out secrets. We feast on _souls_ , mind you."

He's going to leave _feast on souls_ at that.

"And, since you seem quite interest in the truth, I'm here to give you a clue – where to look, where to start. But, of course, anything is a fair trade."

"So you're demanding a price?" He was not expecting that. For an ethereal being to demand for something in exchange is quite… perplexing. "I hope this information is worth whatever you're demanding from me, though."

"You're quite tamed, for a man set out to destroy the world." Raijin chuckled lowly, and upon seeing the offended face of the Earl, it held up both its hands and cocked its head to the side. "I mean it in a good way. I expected you to lash out, insult me, or ever try to kill me."

"There's no point in those. I'm in no position to bargain, am I not?"

"Very true, indeed. You're more aware of your standing than you seem, my dear Earl." It bowed again, slightly, in an act of respect. Then its voice turned serious as it got to the matter. "For the gesture of good will, I will give you this; The Puppeteer is an old being. And you, and your family, are controlled by him. Subtly, gently… that is, until you're no longer of use."

He felt anger suddenly took over his frame, but in a split second, Raijin was replaced by a spark of lightning, and the next thing he knew his face was on the ground, a sharp _Espada Ropera_ pressed on his carotid artery. His rage subsided as soon as it came, and he blinked twice before glancing up at the eyes that were void of any emotions. "What are you doing?"

"That's one of the defense mechanism." Raijin explained, the weight on the Earl's shoulder loosen slightly, but not completely gone. "Before you make any excuses or claims, let me explain."

It released Adam from his restraints, and upon concluding that the man would not attempt suicide by attacking him, continued.

"The Puppeteer had tricked you into his bidding. You won't remember a thing about it, of course, for he took from you your freedom as well as your memories of what had transpired seven thousand years ago. If you wish to know what the truth is, then you have to find where the memories are kept."

"And why, pry tell, should I believe this… _story_ of yours?" He questioned, frown deepened as he thought it over. Truly, the story is ridiculous. How could someone trick _him_ , of all people? Is that someone really existed?

"You don't have to believe it." Raijin responded. It then placed a small stack of papers, browned and stained with ink, on the table. "This is the locations, and details of where to find it. It's called Memory Crystal. We've managed to take control of the regions these Crystals are located. Feel free to browse, if you would. If you would rather the war go on like this, however –"

The atmosphere suddenly thickened, the crackling of thunders in its skin became exceedingly louder with each second that passed.

"Then you will become our enemy. And if such is the case, then we will be facing each other in the battlefield. Trust me when I say you will be discarded by your "Master", and you will die a swift death by our hands."

And the air returned to normal. A swift changed of mood, one the Earl almost could not follow. He swallowed thickly, frowning. "If… you say so. Then, is this all that you wish to trade?"

"Yes."

"And what do you demand of me?"

A grim smile, judging from how its eyes gleamed, appeared on its face. The Espada Ropera scattered into the wind as it spoke. "We would like very much for you to refrain attacking the Order or its member, at least until you have made your decision. But of course, calling back all Akumas would seem all too convenient, and that would raise some… _uninvited guests_. So, please do keep killings and ravaging to a minimum."

"And if I refuse?"

A laugh. "Oh, but you wouldn't. You've crossed sword with master Kanda, have you not? Surely you know just how much of a pinch you would be in if you choose to ignore our sincere request?"

Of course. He still remembered. When he thinks back, he knows that Kanda far outmatches him. He hadn't noticed back then, clouded by pride. But now, it's clear as day just how much Kanda was holding back and not striking him down. He had had plenty of opportunity, too.

So, he coughed once, and nodded. "Very well. I'll keep my end of the bargain, as you have kept yours. But there cannot be _no_ deaths."

"It's war. Deaths are around us." Raijin said, opening his arms, and turned left and right slightly. "Just reducing casualties is all that we asked of you. Ah," He stopped, tapping at the side of his helmet twice. "I must depart now. I'll be seeing you again, hopefully as ally rather than an enemy. Fare thee well!"

A lightning bomb exploded before him, and when the Earl regained his sight, the Revenant had already gone, leaving only charred carpet in his place.

"…well…" The Earl murmured, mostly to himself. "That was abrupt."

He took a few seconds to adjust, and after he succeeded, he looked down on a tiny stack of folded papers on his desk. There was this distinct smell of old books about them – papers and wetness and grass, he thought – and the very texture of the material was enough to discern their origins.

He carefully untied the worn-out string that tied the stack together and picked up the first folded paper. Upon unfolding it, he was taken aback by what he saw – a very detailed map of a region somewhere inside Jerusalem, the holy city that was desired by both the Crusaders and the Saracens alike.

The second one was full of texts, well written in old English, with figures of demons of various kinds here and there; demons that even the Earl has never before seen. He frowned slightly as he flipped to inspect the other side; another map, this time labeled vaguely as the "Distant Land under the Sea". How humans managed to get there and mapped this, he didn't know, nor did he have any interest to find out. But the map itself…

They mentioned Dark Matter, Akuma, Innocences, God, and this mysterious "Puppeteer"… it didn't seem like Raijin was lying about giving him clues. This, indeed, is a bunch of need-to-know basis information to guide him to _more_ than just superficial awareness.

After shuffling through a while, he happened upon a newly-written piece of paper. He took it close to his eyes and murmured under his breath;

"We hope this help. Whatever your answer may, come to see us three weeks from the moment these information arrived at you. The date will be January 17th, 10.00 pm, at the top of Big Ben's tower. Sincerely, Kanda."

…that was unexpected.

He only knew the man is a Second Exorcist, and tied to Alma Karma. He was planning on using that boy to force him to spit out what he knows, but he had went ahead and rid of Alma for good. He was more… _powerful_ , and insightful, than he liked to admit. Not only that, his combat prowess suddenly rose to a whole new level a few months ago.

After some digging around, a name came up; Templars, the Crusaders who fought in the Crusade War, long disbanded in the age of Jacque de Molay.

Well, he can worry about that later… for now, time to find some tea.

….

Allen was fairly sure that Dahlia is as scary as Cross is. Or worse.

Probably worse.

Two hours after Kanda high-tailed out of the infirmary, Dahlia contacted them and told them that she wanted to meet every exorcist in the exorcist's special outdoor training ground. He had never heard of such place, really, but Komui seemed to do. After all wounds are neatly patched-up, some of the exorcists and none of the Generals (they said they were good. They _are_ good, really, but Allen was curios, Lavi was curious, Lenalee was underestimating himself, Marie was also curious, so they went anyways) plus a Komui went there.

They were greeted by a vast plain, with rocks and dying trees littered all over the place. Perched up on what seemed to be a man-made cliff was Dahlia, cross-legged as always, with Kanda meditating right below her. Upon entering however, Komui seemed to notice some signal that Kanda (probably) gave him and quickly duck to the side. Allen didn't understand this until a great wind whipped up above him, and a second later Dahlia landed on where he used to be, he claws extended and her eyes gleamed with viciousness.

Since most of them didn't talk that much to her, they quickly reacted with violence. Marie'' strings already went up her left wing, but instead of pulling her down, he got bested and threw over her head, landing on Lavi who was charging from the other side. As amusing as this would normally seem, her eyes made him cringed back. He shouted at Kanda, who made no attempted to move or anything at all. "What the bloody hell is this, Kanda?"

Dahlia answered that question herself. "Training, of course."

She growled and whipped around; her large tail got him at his no-lung side and knocked the air out of him, sending him crashing to the rock where Komui was cowering behind. "Ow! Komui-san, you sure this is okay!?"

"I don't know!" He yelled and rolled to the side as Lenalee's mistimed attack went past his head. "Holy – Lenalee!"

"Sorry, brother!" She said, and because of those words, she got knocked off her feet by the dragon's roar. Dahlia wasted little time to lunge at her, claws out and gleamed in the daylight like sharp swords.

"Isn't this a little excessive for a training!?" Lavi yelped, getting smacked in the behind by her tail. He got up on two feet, gathering fire inside her mouth. "I – holy fucking shit _are you shitting me!?_ "

"Your enemy is not some retard shits anymore," Kanda said from where he was, finally standing up, his eyes still closed. Allen could see that the air around him was almost the same as the dragon (who was breathing fire at them and burned off a good part of Lavi's hair), only…

In an instant, Kanda closed the distance between him and Allen, who barely managed to dodge a forward-foot forward stab, the tip of his blade missing Allen's left eye by a margin. He got no luxury to ask why when Kanda twisted his blade and slash upward, cutting his cheek and splattered his blood into Marie's eyes. Although he was already blinded, the blood still startled him to a point that Dahlia was able to break his guard and slam him against a tree.

"Kanda, what the hell?"

"Who said she's going to fight you guys alone?" He replied, resting the blade on his shoulder and put his still-injured hand behind his back. His left eye has already healed, but for some reason, he closed it. "It's a sad thing Generals don't see use of training with someone _below_ them, but trust me…"

"We are more than capable to deal with all of you." Dahlia finished, raising her head and bellowed, low enough for threes in fifty meter radius to lean and crack. "This is just a warm up, and you're already in over your head. Kanda, shouldn't we be giving them some handicaps?"

"I already _am_ ," He said. "I'm using one arm here, you know."

She snorted and righted herself up. Only then did Allen realize how _gigantic_ in size she was. She easily stood more than twice a man's height, and her wings, out in the open, were enveloping the whole sky. Her eyes, dazzling green, were enough to send him cowering in the corner.

Then she spoke, louder than she had intended. "I don't think just the four of them would make it against us."

Kanda made a face, mouth curved downward like a mocking frown, and nodded twice before lowering his blade. "You're right. So who's going to do the first time, you or –"

She suddenly growled, looking up above her. "Maybe not."

She might've been the first to spot, but Kanda was the first to react, blocking the twin, serrated blade from Madness. General Sokalo grinned wickedly and licked his lips. "I see you're not a General for nothing, boy. I never botherin' memorize sucker's name. What's yours?"

Kanda used his one arm, the other still strangely hidden behind him, to push Sokalo's Innocence away, making him lose balance. When he went for a stab, he quickly pulled back, a bullet hitting the hilt of his sword instead of his hand. A smile crept up on his face as he addressed the newcomers. "I thought you people are ditching this. And, General Sokalo, the name's Kanda."

"We've been observin', mind ye," Cross said, gun ready, the barrel still hot and spewing out smoke, matching the cigarette in his mouth. "You're better than I thought. Stopping Judgement's Bullet Deviation sure is somethin'."

"Just think o' this as a welcome to a General's seat, eh?" Sokalo said, raising his blade again. Kanda jumped back, and quickly kicked himself up into the air as Lau Jimin's fist went right below him. He landed on his head, and gave him a good kick to the nape of the neck before slashing a white, artificial vine created by his own master.

"Why the fuck are you people gankin' up on me?" Kanda said with a merry laughter, backing away and nod, addressing his master with a finger to his face. "And you, stop calling me Yuu or I'll chop your ass to bits."

That threat, however, was in a teasing tone, so Tiedoll took no offence.

"Well, from what we observe, you seem to be handling yourself just fine during today's attack. You probably can deal with _just us_ , right, Yuu-kun?"

"That's an overstatement, master."

"You didn't seem to mind, though." Cross pointed out. "And you, Idiot Allen, stop payin' attention to this side or you're gettin' ye ass kicked!"

Allen was not aware that he had been staring until Lenalee pulled him out of Dahlia's swing swipe, saving him from probably broken arm. "Thanks."

"No problem." She said, glancing up at Kanda, who seemed content to fight against all four Generals at once. "He has improved a lot more than we do."

"He certainly did." Allen agreed, getting up to his feet. He felt weird, being left into the dust like this. Kanda had gotten a lot stronger, even surpassing the Generals. How, he didn't know. He thought he will have to ask the man for advice later on, but for now.

He put his fists together.

"We can't back down now, can we?"

The dragon smiled, fire once again sparking in her gaping mouth.

"No if you want to get stronger!"

 ** _..._**

 ** _For Shitty puns, searched Gaping Dragon m_:3_m hehehe_**

 ** _Anyways, hope you enjoy! And be seeing ya, my folks! :)_**


	18. Chapter 18

**_I think I sometimes move too quicky? Eh... welp, whatever :v_**

 ** _Anyways, sorry for the long wait, chaps. As usual, the Typos are there, and so are the rest of the stories :p_**

 ** _Please Enjoy!_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Eighteen: Disparity_**

After three hours of trying to survive Dahlia's onslaught, Allen came to realize just how crippling his injuries actually are.

After a good twenty minutes in, he started running out of breath. If it's only against Akumas, he'd be fine, but Dahlia was much like a Noah that she gave no opening, careful as hell, while baring her fangs and tried to run them down without giving a room to breathe. He had to stop and take a break once in a while, something Dahlia was fully aware. But, instead of going easy on him, she _paid special attention_. Not that he was complaining. No, not at all.

He's definitely not complaining when she stomped his head into the ground, or bit his left arm and gave it teeth holes. Did he mention that she burned off his hair (Lavi laughed at this, and Allen considered killing him)? Also, every _single_ time he was forced to back away because of his lung wheezing, she made him stand back up on his feet to not get crushed under her weight.

Kanda, on the other hand, didn't seem to break much sweat against four Generals. He had his left, injured arm at his back while he skillfully drew silver arcs with his blade, preventing harm from coming close to him. Cross and Tiedoll was holding back, Lau Jimin only circled about. Only Sokalo was going at him without any care and attempted to man-slaughter with all his might. Allen had to admit that Kanda's movement was more efficient that it was months before; it's more _beautiful_ (yes, that's his choice of words), and there was not a single moment wasted.

He had to train more; Allen thought dryly, as he deflected Dahlia's big-ass tail with his right arm (and almost got it broken).

After they were done (with him sporting more bruises than most), she looked at his injuries (especially the lung) and told him that there's a way to cure it, but the process is going to be long. He didn't really have a choice there, so he had to wait. And while she was tending to the exorcists' injuries _–_ Lavi got this bad burn to his palms when she overheated his hammer, and he thought Lenalee had her elbow dislocated? _–_ Allen's gray eyes flickered to another group.

Kanda still fight with only one arm, but his sword had started to create blue fire arcs that increased his range. The arcs had some delay that made his movements unpredictable, and sometime the fire turned freezing and froze solid General Tiedoll's creations. Sometimes the fire is hotter than purgatory, melting down Madness' edges and scorched Lau Jimin's flesh just the same. But from what Allen saw, the Generals have yet to go all-out (Well, they should, since they are four-against-one), while Kanda seem to be having a bit of a hard time avoiding hits after so long in.

Although, Allen thought, he must praise the bastard for managing with one hand.

Ten minutes later, Kanda's guard was broken and he was shot through the wrist, hitting the nerve and causing him his grip strength. To Allen's horror (really, he was horrified), Kanda took the hilt into his mouth – he could only imagine the jaw strength needed for such feat. Really, that is _not_ practical, unless you're not an ordinary human. And Kanda was skillful, too, as if he had fought like that before. He became fierce, employing lunging attacks and charging in spinning twice at the last moment, catching Sokalo off guard and grazed his nose. The man's grin widen as he retaliated.

Kanda's hand regenerated completely and he dropped the blade from his mouth, jabbing forward and went into the hole that connected Madness' blades together. With a wrist flick, he disarmed Sokalo. Lau Jimin came from his left, and Kanda retaliated by planting his sword into the ground before swinging upward, blinding the monkey with the dirt and gave him a good kick to the face.

"Are you done, Dahlia?" Kanda asked, tripping as he got caught by his master's vines. " _Jesus Christ_ I was talking!"

"Not in battle, Yuu-kun," Tiedoll said with a smile. "Not in a battle,"

"Oh, _screw you –"_

 _"_ _Language,_ please!" Dahlia snapped. "And _yes_ , I'm done, you workaholic!"

Kanda held his tongue and leapt out of Cross' bombardment, only to get hit square in the face and flew into Dahlia. Her fur (feathers? Scales? Ehhh…) ruffled as he scrambled back on his feet. With a grimace, he sat down, rubbing the sore spot behind his neck. "And I think I'm done for. Good fight, gents, lady."

"If it's one-on-one, I'm pretty sure you can hold your ground better," Sokalo comment, fetching his Innocence and deactivating it. "You've improved. The name's Kanda, was it? Welcome to the fucking fold."

"Hah," He snorted with a grin and looked at Lavi. "Oi, rabbit?"

"Ha~ai?" The other chimed back happily, a hand on his head to cover the loss of hair. His head turned at Kanda's call, and the lack of animosity from Kanda's voice suggested that this is either a serious issue discussion, or some kind of unforeseen _friendliness_.

Just thinking about it made Allen's skin crawl, really.

"You remember your discussion with Komui? About the Second Exorcist?"

Komui stiffed, so did Tiedoll. Lavi's eyes shone brightly, and he nodded ever so furiously. "Yeah, of course! Wait – how did _you_ know about it?"

"Let's just say that I do." Kanda shrugged, poking at the wound on his hand (a new one) and winched. "Library, 9 pm sharp. I'll show you what I know."

Komui fidgeted.

Lavi took the offer so quickly and energetically that Kanda had to shove him off and put his face into Dahlia's claws for him to stop.

They rested there awhile, an hour or so, chattering about. Kanda took refuge under one of the dragon's wings, closing his eyes and crossing his arms. Allen saw him looked at them sometime when no one (but Allen, obviously) was watching. After the dragon healed their injuries (mostly caused by her, too) quite enough for them to wander about painlessly, they returned to the Order. Kanda excused himself and went into the Ark, not telling anyone to where.

Though Allen had an idea or two.

After he separated from the rest and prepared to go to sleep (the fight with Dahlia was outright _exhausting_. He couldn't lift a finger now), he was stopped by Dahlia, who looked at him with unreadable expression and said, "Do you mind following me a bit, Allen?"

He was tired, but he never refused such a sincere request. "Sure. Where are we going?"

"Outside," She said. "There's a small building Central constructed as workers' shacks while working on this place. It's abandoned now, so don't worry."

"May I ask you why?"

She gave him a firm look. "I want to talk to Neah."

The mentioned of Neah's name stopped him in his track. Allen spun around, his left eye flashed golden, and a small patch of his skin turned gray. He shook his head slightly, clearing Neah's anger from his mind. The man nagged at him and told him that Dahlia is dangerous. He didn't think so. So despite Neah's warning, he nodded and solemnly said; "Certainly. But can you tell me – rather, _him_ – what are we going to discuss?"

She turned left and right, sniffing the air a few times. "Hmm. Ah, I'm going to bring you to meet someone from the "Order". However, _Neah_ ," She lowered her head to match Allen's line of sight. "You'll need to completely take over for that to happen. We cannot disclose his identity so soon."

Allen paused, murmuring in his mind, _Are you okay about this, Neah?_

The other remained silent for a short moment before answering, a trace of hesitance in his voice. _Yes. But prepare the Ark, just in case._

 _Alright then._ "He gave an Okay. And, Miss?"

"Yes?"

"How did you know about _us_?"

"It's easy to tell when you are my age, Allen." She replied with a grin on her face, her wings ruffled slightly behind her. Her tail found Timcanpy and took him out of Allen's hair. The golem gave her a full row of teeth, and she looked back endearingly. "I'll tell you another time. For now, I need to talk, alone, with the Fourteenth."

And she led them to the abandoned building, the one near their training ground; she had back-tracked them to where they were a few hours prior. The white haired sighed and relaxed back, his mind reeling toward the strange, not so comfortable feeling of "Switching".

 _I'll let you take the reign. Be careful._

 _I will. Thank you, Allen._

When he opened his eyes, they were smoldering golden. He stayed looking at the sky for a few moments before he spoke. "What need you of me, my dear dragon?"

She smiled ruefully and beckoned for Tim to fly by her side. She didn't harbor any ill intend, but there was something on her mind. Neah only looked on with blank expression on his face.

"I need you to tell me everything you know about Kanda."

That was quite unexpected on her part, Neah noted grimly. He forced out a smile as he said; "I do not know what you're talking about, my dear dragon."

"You noticed his ring, did you not?" She said, half-snarled, her feathers grew ever so stiff, and her stance became quite obvious she will kill if needed be. "I don't even know his intention, and my instinct has been screaming at me to find out."

"So, you trust instinct more than logic." Neah concluded dryly. "And yes, I have noticed his ring. He's one of them, isn't he? A Templar?"

"I only know that much." She replied, wings twitching slightly. Neah edged closer toward the accursed Innocence and took a step back away from her. She forcibly calmed herself down with controlled breathing. "I… to be frank, he has this vibe about him that makes my skin crawls."

"On that, we can agree on." He murmured, relaxing his muscles a little, as the dragon before him had done. Tim fluttered about nervously. "I tried once, asking Tim what he knows. It's the one and only time he refused the request of his co-creators."

"He did?" Dahlia repeated, glancing at the golden golem who was keen on snuggling and hiding under her wing.

"He did."

"This will complicate the matters, it'd seem." She finally commented before settling down. "So, Neah, we did share a common ground that we are a tad wary of Kanda's motives, are we not?"

"We are, indeed." Neah said with a nod. "What is your proposal?"

"Let's find out together. I cannot afford to trust someone who'd become our downfall again."

Again?

Neah let it slide out of the way and smiled up at her, his golden eyes no longer as piercing as they were before. He is very curious about that man's true nature. And the fact that _that thing_ can traverse into his plain of existence oh-so-easily is worrying. Although, to be fair, he didn't think Kanda is a danger to him, or the Order. "Very well, my dear dragon. Although I'll let you know that I am not your enemy, in case you're still wondering."

She only offered back a laugh. "I already know that."

* * *

Tyki had run into something _horrible._

Yeah, sure, the Earl was catching a ghost here, but they'll humor him. Wisely read something off the Earl's mind, but he didn't say a goddamn thing about it, only shrug at the inquisition. Road seemed not convinced, and he was more than bored to actually care about the detail. So here they were, in the midst of a ruin castle, staring at a cloak skeleton, with its body composed of skulls and legs and _arms_ , while the main, giant skull was covered by the hood.

It was just a statue, but the eyes were unnaturally red, and its skeletal hand was holding a staff made of bones. The top was a demonic skull, with cracks and fissures, its mouth holding a broken orb inside. But that wasn't the most disturbing of all, no.

It was the fact that there were _body parts_ littering everywhere.

Even a Noah – an entire family – couldn't have accomplished this. Entrails are okay, heads are okay, arms and legs are okay, but not like this. Not entrails that were shredded into ribbons, not heads that was cut down like onions, not arms and legs that was stuck inside a dead hound's mouth. And there's a goddamn script written in _eyeballs_ on the floor;

 _The Fire is fading_.

That was cryptic as shit.

"I have to agree with you there, Tyki." The other, Wisely, commented from the side, using his demon eye to scan the room. "It's recently done. The lingering "Souls" still remain, even now. What on earth happened here?"

" _We'll humor him_ , I've said," Tyki commented, snaring under his breath. Road popped out from his vest and hung her doll arms around his neck. "Damn it, this is not even a joke anymore. What are we looking at here?"

"Bodies of various humans, for one."

"Thank you for the _obvious_ , Wisely." Tyki spat and crossed his arms. He had been wondering for a while now who could've done this. And as it turned out, some of the bodies were actually women he had danced with before during the nobles' gatherings. "Why is there someone we knew here?"

"This isn't the Order's doing, I'm most certain." Wisely muttered, rubbing his chin. Road slapped Tyki's cheek softly out of boredom. "No matter how vile and repulsive they are, this is _beyond_ their capabilities."

"This is beyond even _ours_." Tyki stated. "Huh. What did the Earl said about this place, again?"

"That this place is a gathering of dead people." Road replied. Tyki looked at her with such an expression Wisely couldn't help but laugh at. She knew what he was about to say next, so Roah quickly added, "And that there's someone who tended to these graves – uh, corpses, morelike – and the grave tender knows something about the "Puppeteer" that the Earl keeps mentioning."

"Do you know who that is, Wisely?" Tyki questioned, looking off to the far distance.

"No. Even the Earl does not."

The tallest of the three clicked his tongue. "Tch, another dead end. Humor him my ass; this is more like getting sucked into a whirlpool of unfathomable things."

"Things we should've left alone." Road added, climbing up Tyki's head and resting on his hair, quite comfortably so. "Ah, Wisely, do you mind looking around and see if there's a living being here?"

"Thou need not looketh far."

The voice came from above, and he barely dragged Wisely out of the way in time when the thing came crashing down. When the smoke cleared, its hulking form emerged from the dust. It had six arms, two legs, with a Chinese Lion's mask as its face, with red eyes shimmering in the dark. Wisely frowned and nudged Tyki's side. "Tyki, I can't read its mind."

"Very obvious wh – _whoa!_ " He didn't get to finish his sentence as its clawed arm slammed down on them. Road was caught by Tyki's foot when she fell off from her place, and Tyki had to use Wisely's headband to distract the thing. "Holy mother of shits, _what the hell!_ "

"I can't open the Dream World." Road said, with a hint of panic in her tiny frame. Tyki glanced at her, and with an exchange with Wisely, they quickly scrambled out of the way and hid behind one of the many pillars.

"Do not be shy, dear Children of Dark," It cooed, craning its head until it almost went 180 degrees. "Thou art fine ones. Come on out now, dear, so I can carve what thou must do into thine very minds!"

"Such obsolete language!" Wisely whisper-shout beside Tyki. "What are we looking at here?"

"Beats me," Tyki said, exhaling slowly and as quietly as he could. The beast went past their pillars, and went into another corner. Tyki's golden eyes then went to Road, who was panting (with her doll-ish face. So cute) heavily. "Are you okay, Road?"

"No." She almost spat. "There's something about _that thing_ that make me want to _puke_. Something nauseating. Something very _wrong_."

"We need to escape." Wisely said, scooting to the side and hopped to the next pillar, followed suit by Tyki. "I can see his shadow going over to the other end – this place is like a maze. Tyki, can you use your power?"

"Yeah, I still can." He said with a grimace. He peeked out from the cover and saw that hulking shadow a good distance away. His brows furrowed further as his wounds from Allen started acting up. _Now, of all the times_ , he thought as he grabbed Wisely by the shoulder and hugged Road-doll close to his chest. With a sigh, he used his power and dropped the three of them through the floor into the dungeon they had yet to explore.

What struck him most was the stench of rotten corpses. His golden eyes went all over the room, only to see mound of bodies, long since dried up, with puddle of old blood covering the floor. He put a hand over his nose to lessen the smell and hopped down from the mound they were standing on. Tyki glanced around only to find the place a bit _too large_ , and with only a few holes here and there as sources of light.

"We've dropped down into quite a gruesome place, haven't we?" The Noah of Wisdom commented from the side. "I don't see exits anywhere."

"No shit, Wisely," Tyki cracked. He could hear faint rumble from above their heads – _must be that damn thing_. "Road?"

"I can, but it's going to take some time." She said. "It's as the Earl said, though, about this place?"

"He said what?"

" _Mound Maker_." She replied, still concentrating on making an exit back _home_ , as they've called their manor. " _Corpses Collector._ And that thing, the Earl had described quite accurately as "The Spider Lion". We should report back what we found."

"What did we found? We find anything _at all?_ " He asked back, incredulous. If his memories still served, he remembered _not_ a single thing they have seen were significant. "If you're talking about that thing –"

"Someone dropped him this information; he was sending us to check if it was true." Wisely murmured. "The information is accurate, and it hadn't failed to mention everything we've seen. He might just be trying to make sure his sources weren't faking it."

"So we're guinea pigs. Nice." Tyki knew that wasn't the case, but he wanted to say it. No matter how you look, they're sent on a pretty risky outing. He simply shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, whatever, Road?"

"Done!" She exclaimed, a door popping out before them. "Quickly!"

As they scuttled through the door, the Spider Lion loomed behind them, its mouth moving as it spoke through a ball of black orb that was floating in the sky.

"The Templars have made their moves, my lord. The Children have come into my liar. They are sniffing something out of it."

A voice, crooked and hoarse, replied with anger.

 _"_ _We won't wait until they find out. Silence them."_

* * *

Clara fears Kanda.

No, seriously, she is _terrified_ of that man. As carefree and disrespectful as she made herself to be, she dared not step on Kanda's foot. In the Old Timeline, when they first fight him, he introduced himself and Seth as the Void Walkers, and proceeded to fight Richard to a standstill. Not many people can do that; even less can do it with half-broken bodies such as his.

He gave off this certain chills when he is pissed. David was under its very air of _death_ more times than she is, and they both agreed that if they're going to fight, it must _not_ be in front of people who were kept in the dark, and less so if it would disrupt their works. But their difference still put them at odds more often than not, and yesterday was the second time since Kanda's _awakening_ that she was put under those dreadful air.

Back to the beginning, when he just freshly joined, they were almost like an old couple that fought over the littlest things. They would often bickered, but now that she thought back, it was as if Kanda was _having fun_ teasing her, which was annoying. The first time she experienced such a dreadful sight was when she was about to kill Lavi, who begged her to end his life after he was completely blinded. It was mostly an Adjustment Disorder, something that would eventually go away. But she had her grudges with Kanda, so she was more than happy to fulfill Lavi's request.

The ice so hot it burnt her skin, and the fire so cold it froze her very blood stopped her, and when she looked back, Kanda was standing there, glaring at her with a different kind of gaze – the kind that she had only caught a glimpse when he was fighting with one of the Old God's underlings. She made her excuses, of course, but was replied by having her legs encased in burning-hot ice. She still remembered the feeling of her skin slowly dying.

She still tried her luck the second time. That was when she had a fight with him (again), and it went to the point that she threatened to kill his friends if he didn't agree to her way of thinking. He snapped almost immediately, and she almost died, had it not been Richard who stepped in between them and told Kanda to stop. As much of a rival they are, the Japanese held a certain kind of respect to the Grandmaster, and such, he backed down. She had a few of her ribs broken, her clavicle shattered into four pieces, and a nasty burn down her left arm and leg.

Then it became clear (yes, she was an idiot for not seeing that the first time) that Kanda isn't someone you want to fuck with.

She was jolted back into the real world when Richard called her by the name and snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Hey, hey, Clara! Are you there? I'm talking. Are you even listening?"

"Ah, um, sorry, sir. Please continue."

"As I was saying," He continued as if nothing had happened. "I don't know what that idiot was thinking, but from the looks of it, the Taint has already taken root into his soul."

"How are you certain about it?" Clara inquired, fidgeting slightly. She had seen signs, of course, but she didn't believe it was that serious. She was still kicking, still _killing_ , and most of all, still scaring the shit out of her.

"I have had a friend who fell prey to this thing before." He said, relaxing back into his seat and sighed, subbing his forehead as if to soothe the headache he was feeling. Clara frowned. It couldn't be – "Ganier, the leader of the Knight Hostpitaller, used his own body to shield _me_ from such vulgar curse. And he was already half-way to his deathbed when he asked me to kill him. He had the same symptom has Kanda is now."

"The – wait, do you mean –"

"That his Taint had progressed to the point where the pain was enough for you to beg for death?" He voiced what she dared not said, and when she finally nodded in respond, he replied with a half-broken voice. "Yes."

"Who else know about this?"

"You and me." He shrugged. "And Isaac, I think, since his Binding Wings are needed to control it from spreading too far."

"He is an idiot!" She cursed out loud. "And he ignored it, said that it was _not a big deal_. He actually made it look like nothing. He _bested_ Apocryphos in _that_ state, too! I mean, what the fuck –"

"Language!"

"Sorry." She apologized, ashamed of herself. But she regained her sense quickly and inquired, "What are our options?"

He remained silence. For a wise old man to be like that –

"Don't tell me –"

"I don't know anything but killing him to end his suffering."

"Sir!"

"I know, I know!" He quickly raised both hands defensively as Clara turned hostile on him. Once she settled down, he continued, "I won't do it unless he asked me to, or when he turned hostile –"

"If, Richard, not _when_." The blonde gritted out, her nails digging deep into her palm. "What inflicted the taint? I never heard him say it, nor write it down."

"He never mentioned where he got it from explicitly, only that it involving the Old God – which does little to help, since almost everything we fight against is a goddamn servant of the Old God." The Grandmaster said with an exasperate sigh. "Just… keep watch, and keep him sane, ok?"

"Sure…?" She said while realizing something. "Wait, sir… where the flying fuck is Kanda now?"

"I thought he was with you…?"

Fuck, they lost him, that slippery bastard.

 _Again_.

* * *

 ** _The First Fragment: Kanda_**

In the beginning, Kanda despised Seth.

When he had been promoted to a General, he was faced with an incredibly strong monster called the Spider Lion while trying to save Allen from Neah, and it wrecked him good and proper. The Spider killed Neah's soul while leaving Allen with a hole in his stomach, and half of Kanda's body was crushed beyond repair. He was in a comatose stage after, his mind trapped inside his own unmoving, dying body.

And then, when he thought he had finally found the sleep he yearned for, something dragged him back by the arm. It was Seth, a dragon with black armor-like scale, whose inside was hollowed and filled by burning inferno, and whose eyes were smoldering blue. He woke up, unable to move the left side of his body, unable to speak, unable to do a _fucking thing_ for himself. So he cursed his own Innocence for bringing him back to life.

He had to be cared for (Allen was more than eager to, since he felt like he owed Kanda his life – nonsense, that boy owed him _nothing_ ) at almost his every waking hours. He knew that dragon is his Innocence, but he shunned it away, because he hated its very core for making him suffer longer than he should have. He had always prepared himself for an eternal rest, a rest he had never been able to get.

Then one day, only a few hours after Allen and Marie managed to bust Lavi out of whatever hellhole he'd been (he recounted that Bookman was dead long before he even found Allen a second time, the bastard), the Order was under attack. Their only escape route was blocked off, and one by one the members of the Black Order were slaughtered. When it was his turn, Kanda's mind wandered to the one thing he never dreamt of coming to care for;

 _His 'friends'_.

So Kanda willed his body to move despite the pain, and Seth, who had been waiting the whole time, spoke into his ears.

 _Light and Dark, Life and Death, Heat and Cold… such is the nature of this world, the two things that cannot exist without the other. Like you and I, you cannot live without me, and I cannot fulfill my purpose without you._ _You don't want to live, but if you do not, your friends will perish. I don't want you to suffer, but if you don't, you'll never fight the war. So please, accept me and rise, and together we will destroy all those in our ways; Vatican, the Earl… even Death itself._

Even though he abhorred the very idea of it, Kanda accepted its offer, using his own body as its vessel and gained Seth's original power; the power to control the Disparity of this world. To control fire that was freezing like the arctic, to control ice as scalding as the flame, to control darkness that shine against the damned, to control the light that shadowed the living under its wings, to control life lost, and to control death inherited.

So he froze them with his flame, and burnt them where they stood with the scalding cold of his blade, made from his clotted blood. He cut them down, one by one, still cursing god and Seth under his breath as he mowed down the accursed with the power he will never accept.

When the fight was over, he had tried to kill himself; that's right, he had exhausted his purpose. There's no point living if you're just going to drop dead again, but Seth and his regeneration powers stopped him from dying. Then he realized the Innocence refused to let him go, to chain him to this world and do its bidding. He cursed Seth, and asked why. When he was supposed to finally be laid to rest, he asked why God would choose him.

 _It is not God who wishes for you to suffer._ It – he – had replied. _It is I that wish for you to live; for me, for your brothers and sisters, and for yourself._

To live for _himself_? Nonsense, Kanda had thought. But, since he couldn't kill himself (because fuck Seth, he renewed his Regeneration Seal and patched his life force back to normal), the Japanese decided that he will have to live for the sake of others. Something he had never done, and something he both was glad he did and regretted even considering.

He discovered the Templar Order a few months afterward, accompanied by Allen back then. They both refused to join, and were harshly punished for their "Stupidity", as Richard had put it at that time, by being whipped a hundred times for each person. He kind of kicked Allen down a goddamn cliff, and took twice the beating for that. Talking about _religious organization_.

And, to make things worse, he was thrown into a prison somewhere in the far north, chained and bound by spells akin to those of CROWs, but far stronger. He had tried multiple attempts to escaped, all ended up with his limbs being chopped off, and getting whipped a few hundred more times.

Kanda just knew that humans, no matter who they are, _are stupid_. They care only for their own gains, they don't consider _shits_ , and they're hypocrites to their very core. Becoming a demon to fight a demon? Then what about their so-called humanity? Kanda wanted to laugh at that idea.

Fucking hypocrites, all of them.

And then, when Allen (who idiotically got captured trying to bail Kanda out) was put on death row, Kanda just knew his death is going to be a violent one. So, one last time, he thought, he's going to borrow the power of that accursed Innocence and rescued the idiot who had given him the freedom he doesn't deserve. And so he did, closing his eyes and calling out for the very thing he hated, becoming a hypocrite himself for a suicide mission.

 _Why would you go this far just for a single boy?_

 _Because I owed him my life, and Alma's_. Kanda had answered.

 _You saved him from the Noah, too. Doesn't that make you equal?_

Kanda didn't reply.

 _Why, again, are you going to sacrifice yourself for him?_

He knew the answer, he always did. He was just a coward, not wanting to recognize that simple word. But, in his final moments, what was the point? He will die either way. There's no point in denying anymore.

So, he replied, with conviction far stronger than what he'd ever had, without a trace of hesitation in his voice;

 _Because he's a friend._

 _As you are to me._ Seth had said, with sad tinge to his tone.

Maybe, just maybe, having Seth pulling him out of the world of the dead and became his friend might be a good thing, after all.

With newfound appreciation for Seth's existence, and his acceptance of the importance of _friends_ , he broke the shackles and barged into a room filled with Templars, all of them staring down at him in shock.

Shocked, for he was clad with gentle, yet infernally hot fire, with black metallic dragon-kin perching its paws on his shoulders, its lower jaw split in two and half of its missing body replaced with flame stronger than what he had ever used. His left eye had turned steel blue, the color of Seth's flame. He had stared down the man who led the Templar, and he had demanded that Allen be set free. Naturally, Richard had refused.

With a single roar, the dome shattered, leaving most present dumbstruck.

 _What are you?_ Richard had asked, sword drawn and ready to strike.

With a rueful smile, Kanda had replied;

 ** _We_** _are the Void Walkers._

Such was, is, and will be, _their_ epithets for years to come.

* * *

 ** _DONE! Haha! I'll start adding these FRAGMENTS about one chapter each, and it will first center around the beasts inside "Mugen". Then, we'll move on. Sometimes it might come into a package of two or three, so, yeah, that :p_**

 ** _Hope you have a good time, and please Review as usual! :D_**

 ** _\\[T]/ Praise the sun!_**


	19. Chapter 19

**_Jump, skip, jump, skip... AGRH, I'm sorry, dear readers, it just kinda happened...?_**

 ** _A thousand thanks to Lena-luv-cats, who've been with this shit since the beginning and still do. Also thanks to KyraEnsui and frenzy4eva and few others who've came across this THING and stick with it :D I much appreciate your kind reviews, and I'll do my best XD_**

 ** _...right_**

 ** _I'll just move along now. Enjoy the story!_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Nineteenth: Invitation to Chaos_**

"You… are a Second Exorcist?"

Lavi repeated in horror. After he disclosed the full story behind the Second Exorcist Project, Kanda revealed that he is the other subject, the one that had killed Alma and escaped. The Japanese said nothing when Lavi said that, instead crossed his arm and looked out at the window, forehead resting on the glass, his breath creating fog on it. His eyes were dark, but there was not a trace of anger left in there. The redhead breathed out shakily before dropping onto the sofa he just stood up from, clutching at his head.

"I… I had no idea… Yuu, I'm –"

"Don't apologize," Kanda cut him, but his voice was not as sharp as it used to be. He seemed… almost calm. The Japanese remained leant against the now ice-cold window, his body relaxing down bit by bit as he spoke, slowly, almost too softly. "It isn't related to you. And your behavior towards me has its own reasons."

"You mean, me wanting to kill you, and hating you for not helping when doing so would put your life at risk?" He shot back in disbelief, fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly. His irrational anger couldn't bring itself out from his sea of dread, not after he had heard it all. He had no idea Kanda had suffered so much. Related to the reason of his fury or no, he shouldn't have said any of those things. He shouldn't. "After everything you –"

"I don't need your pity, Lavi." Kanda gnarled out, leaving his place and stalked toward him, towering over his cowering frame. He then grabbed Lavi by the collar and lifted him up, so that his eye would look straight into Kanda's onyx ones. "I told you this, because I think you _deserve_ to. Like it or not, you are not some outsider who'd look at the war from the sidelines. You _are_ one of us, and, I'll be damned, a decent one. Knowing this might help you realizing something when things went to shit."

"But, Yuu, I'm a Bookman –"

"I have a proposal, if you want to hear it." Kanda changed the subject, his hand releasing itself from Lavi's shirt. He went to sit opposite of the redhead, with his fingers intertwined themselves together, his chin resting on them as he continued without Lavi's consent. "I, no… _we_ want to invite you to join us."

He remembered the ring, the Lion, the Fox. He knew who this "we" Kanda is referring to. Yet to fully shaken off the heaviness of the truth Kanda had revealed, he only furrowed his brows, drew in another breath, and murmured almost inaudibly. "The Templars, you mean?"

"Observant, almost too much for your own good," The Japanese murmured as he took off his ring and placed it on the coffee table that sat between them, showing Lavi the crimson Cross Pattee. "The Templar Order, the Order of the Temple of Solomon, the Brotherhood, these are our names. We've been a host for accommodators and their assistants since the dawn of this war."

"Why?" Lavi decided to interject. None of this made sense. None of it did, or ever does, since that mission in London. When had this all happened? When did Kanda get involved in all of this? "Why are you telling me this? When did you learn all of this? _How_?"

"When and how is not important," Kanda dismissed the question that would clear up Lavi's curiosity. Instead, he directed the one-eyed man into a more important matter. "I told you because you are like a gem, already high-quality and well-refined. We'd like to put your talent to good use."

"That's all? Don't fuck with me, Yuu, I know there's more to it than just my usefulness." Lavi snapped, and reigned in his bubbling anger in two seconds flat. "Yuu, I've been with you for what, two, three years? I can grasp pretty much how you think. I know you never did thing with effectiveness in mind – you always do things on instinct. On best interests, even if you denied it. So, _why?_ Why me, instead of Komui?"

"Komui don't know how to keep his raging emotions to himself." Kanda replied. "That man, while brilliant and with good intentions, are an idiot when it comes to the art of war. You, on the other hand, can separate your emotions from logic, and acted upon it. Komui is already with us, the Templars, only for him to make sure the exorcists are not in over their heads. You, however –"

"You want me to go deeper."

"Indeed."

"…I'm listening." He was done with asking why, since that got him nowhere. And, to be frank, Kanda is pretty good with avoiding things he doesn't want to discuss. What a shrewd guy wearing a cranky samurai's mask. Once he was ready, Kanda let slipped a faint smile and a relieved sigh.

"And here I thought you'd refuse." He commented, laughing (Lavi nearly fainted at this. He wished he had a golem here to record that and blackmail Kanda sometimes) sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. Did he look a bit nervous? "But, before that, there's something we need to take care of."

"What something?" Lavi inquired.

Kanda pointed at him and stated quietly, seriousness on a whole new level. "Your behavior, irrational and almost on impulses, it's caused by someone's spell. I know whose, and I intended to take care of it first. Because what I'm planning on showing you might get all of our asses kicked if it leaked."

"Spell? Are you fucking serious? When? Who?" He bombarded Kanda, again, with questions. Well, that was all he was good at, Lavi decided, so he's going to keep at it.

"Probably Tusk, the giant hammer-wielding piece of shit you met months ago. Ring any bells?" Kanda asked with a raised brow.

Tusk? But that thing – "Wasn't it dead? Like, already?"

"I met it not so long ago, waltzing in Central's Corridor with a smaller body." Kanda shrugged, "So _nope_ , not dead."

"Jesus fucking Christ, what the fuck?"

"That's what I've been asking myself, too." Kanda murmured, eyes went to the side and looked at nothing in particular. He then breathed a bit louder than normal, slapping the back of his head softly, and tapped the side of his boot with his heel once. "Anyways, this is just a heads-up for you. Once it's taken care of, I'll give you more details. For now, go talk to Komui about this. He _is_ a part of us, although not into it as deep as we wanted you to."

"Komui? You mean you told him more than you said earlier?"

"He knows _something_."

"Hah! I knew it! I _knew_ it!"

"Why are you so happy about it?" Kanda inquired, almost amused.

"Well, isn't it something I'm supposed to be happy about? Having my theory proved true? Even if it only scratched the surface?" Lavi shot back, although still laughing and grinning from ear to ear.

Kanda chuckled and shook his head, giving Lavi a smile the redhead didn't think possible to grace the Japanese's feature. "Yeah, this attitude suits you just fine. Like how it was…"

Lavi caught that strange air, and there was a hint of regret inside his onyx eyes. It was quickly erased, however, as he shifted his weight slightly and unfolded his arms. Kanda then tapped at his shoulder, beckoned for _something_ to appear on it.

A white dove, pure and untainted, stood on Kanda's side with its two pearly black eyes looking at Lavi.

"A white dove is called a _Messenger of God_ , as it was in the bible." Kanda said quietly. "This one belongs to me. As an exorcist, if you had reached a point where you can fully synchronized with your Innocence, one like this would appear to your aid. A very subtle information gatherer, if I may say so myself."

"Isn't the sign too obvious, though?" Lavi asked, even if he was in awed with the white dove, which cocked its head to the side and cooed at Lavi lovingly.

"They can use magic."

"They _what?_ "

"Magic," Kanda emphasized, slightly amused and at the same time, annoyed by Lavi's repetition.

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yes, because Magic is impossible in the world where weapons are made from souls of the dead." Kanda said sarcastically, making Lavi fidgeted in his seat. It's true, in the world where Innocences and Dark Matter exists, this should _not_ be surprising. Still.

"So, how? Do they cast spells by chanting them and waving a wooden rod, or something?" Lavi murmured, still not believing Kanda, his finger finding its way to the dove's beak. It pecked him. Hard. "Ow!"

"You've got to stop doing that, or the doves are going to get pissed at you." He shrugged. "Anyhows, we'll continue this in a later date. I might as well go and end the problem about your menopausal mood swing right now –"

"What did you just _call it_ , Yuu? _Menopausal MOOD SWING!?_ " His voice had raised an octave. Nah, probably two. Kanda flinched at the volume and the screeching properly of his high-notes and slapped him upside down.

"Shut up, Lavi."

"No, _you_ shut up! So mean…"

* * *

 _Four days later, the Earl's manor_

They were sent to investigate here and there, none-stop. And when all the things they had believed to be the truth was questioned, they could no longer stay still. And then, after one particular trip to India, they came to realize a growth spurt of a certain man;

"So it's true, then, that the Kanda kid is involved in this."

Tyki stated as the Earl paced back and forth in his room, with Wisely on one corner, Rhode clinging to the Earl's back, and Tyki leaning against the door. The Earl had decided to give them the full story, and he was quite surprised that Kitchen-Knife boy is at the very center. And this Spider-Lion, all of these strange Exceeds… what are they?

"Yes, and what he revealed to me is quite unsettling." The Earl responded, his eyes lingered a tad longer on the lamb at his bedside. "I'm sorry to get you involve in all of these, truly, but I can't just ignore it, not when these _truths_ are threatening the very thing I believe for the past eons."

"I'm with you on this, just so you know." Wisely added, eyes closed. "But I find it strange for Kanda Yuu to change that much in a span of a few months. Did he reach Critical Point already?"

"Even if he did, it doesn't explain his ability to best me." Adam murmured under his breath. Seriously, though, even Cross failed to actually drive him into a corner. Only the fourteenth managed to do that, and even then, he can still kill that man. How could this exorcist, a Second, and a hater of Innocences and Black Order, overpowered him so easily.

"And then there's the fact that he knew about you more than you know about yourself, Earl-tama," Wisely added, playing a little with his bandana. Tyki only scoffed at that comment.

"Indeed. And these things his… _accomplices_ gave me, it didn't say much, but I do believe that if we follow his instructions further, we might get our hands on something that will help me with this… gaps, say, in my memories."

"Well, we do whatever you tell us, Earl," Tyki said with a shrug and a smile. "I, and the rest of us, don't mind it, really. I consider it a peace of mind for you, and you deserve that."

"Thank you, Tyki-pon, that was… inspirational?"

"What the heck with that attitude!?" He exclaimed, amused. But then he changed the subject that came into his mind. "By the way… how in the hell did he know so much? It isn't possible for one man to come across this stack of information on his own."

"Maybe he had a benefactor?" The Demon Eye chimed in, a hand rubbing on his chin thoughtfully. "Or perhaps men with the same mind and goal. Or maybe he even hired a lot of people to find it. Or Black Market."

"You know your suggestions were going overboard, right, Wisely?" Road said with a laugh, rolling on Adam's head back-and-forth in boredom.

"Or maybe it's because he's one of them, the damn Brotherhood."

The one who spoke was Sheryl, standing a few feet from Tyki, with his eyes hidden beneath his bangs. His tone was serious, and there was a clear intent for death clinging to him. Beside him was a tall, white, puppet-like creature with two blue dots as eyes, and it looked not all that friendly.

The Earl straightened himself up, and beckoned Tyki to join him. Before he could speak, Sheryl continued with a sigh. "Oh god damn it, does that kid – and his Order – think _we_ are going to wait until you get your hands on the Old Memories? Jesus, now we have to do _this_ all over again."

"What's the meaning of this, Sheryl?!" Wisely snarled. To Tyki's surprise, it seemed that Wisely mind-reading ability didn't work. "What is the meaning of that puppet behind you? And why can't I –"

"You can read minds of humans, Wisely," He snarled, his eyes turned from gold to blood red, with dark tendrils caressing the left side of his face. "You cannot, however, peer into the minds of a demon unless _we_ want you to."

" _All over again,_ " Road breathed, staring at her adoptive father in shock. She was trembling now, and the Earl couldn't help but feel it. Her eyes trailed to the Earl, then Sheryl again, her face alight as she remembered something. "I – it was _you_ , 35 years ago, isn't it? Your memory –"

"As expected of my dear daughter!" Sheryl squeaked and entered the air of fatherly pride despite the seriousness of the situation. Then the atmosphere changed again, his grin malicious and his eyes full of resentment. "Yes, it was us – well, me, mostly – but that damn Neah. We weren't really sure _you_ , Mana, and that idiot, Neah, could deduce our existences so soon, so… skillfully. So we forged a plan; we made you think he killed all but Rhode, while we kill the two of you –" He pointed at Tyki and Wisely "– and of course, we tricked you into killing Neah."

All, revealed in one unexpected moment. All, crumbling to dust.

The Earl had his suspicions, since the papers Raijin dropped on him had these information, too, but he waved most of them off and thought of them to be mere fairy tales, mere superstitious heretics' stories. But now, it all makes senses. Everything did. He and Neah, they were the Earl. He was Mana.

He _is_ Mana.

When they split, their shackles that chained them to this so-called Old God were destroyed, but their memories then tricked them into believing that they genuinely wanted to destroy the world. Neah, he was the first to discover this. All of these _lies_ , destroyed. Neah then told all other Noahs what he had disclosed within the forbidden memory. Then – _then_ …

"You tricked me… into killing my own _flesh and blood?_ "

The Earl inquired, his voice sharp and venomous as the darkness within his heart exploded. He was angry, and he was losing it. It'd be fine if he just _, just_ kill this son of a bitch and get it over with.

"Oh, but you won't kill us. Not that easily," Sheryl smiled, sweet and sickening.

The rest of the _family_ , the liars, the king slayers, the God-Seekers, they came from the dark, their golden eyes glistening like snakes waiting for the helpless preys. Road let out a silent scream, Tyki pushed Wisely backward and stepped slightly. Fiidora licked his lips and spew out a long trail of eyeballs, with teeth snapping at the air. One of the teeth on his tongue then sang,

" _All we need to do is just kill the four of you, and start over again. As it was before, as it is, and as it will be._ "

"It's an endless cycle, you know." Sheryl sighed tiredly, still smiling as he put a hand over his face. He then glared down at the Earl. "If you aren't so curious and just follow the strings of the Puppeteer like you should, this would've been _so much easier for the both of us_."

"Road, the gate!" Tyki shouted the exact moment the Earl brandished his giant blade, sending Fiidora's tongue flying into Sheryl's face. They stepped back and quickly attempted to retreat –

"I can't enter my Dream! My _DREAM!_ "

She almost screeched as she hunched over, gripping at her head in pain. In a doll-like state, she should _not_ be able to feel those. Their eyes locked on the white puppet, its eyes glowing all the more, and it was starting at Road. With an effort, the Earl shot out dark energy from his hand. It connected and, with a few seconds of delay, exploded and sinking their estate into the ground.

He landed safely with the other three. Road's pain had stopped, now. But Tyki will be damned; that explosion blasted the whole manor into dusts, literally so, but the other so-called _Noahs_ didn't even take any damage.

The doll thing, now harbored Sheryl and Lulubell – those damned traitors – on both its shoulder, descended slowly and gracefully. With a wicked grin, Sheryl started to transform, his eyes shifted to the side of his head as his jaws became like a bird's beak. The middle of the head had this shining red crystal on them, and his whole body turned from ashen gray into a peculiar color of muddy black, with luminescent purplish oozing coming from every joints in his body. He had two antenna-like appendages on his head, both of which moved as if finding something.

"Ah, let me re-introduce myself." He said, the circular rows of teeth hidden under his trigone-shaped head spinning like a saw. "My name is Sheryl, the faithful servant of the Old One. Our duty, here, is to kill you and make you reborn again, to fulfill his majesty's wish."

"You're a goddamn _ant_ , Sheryl?" Tyki managed between seething and, might he added with huge regret, _laughing_. That guy's form is ridiculous!

"An ant, I might be. But I'm certain I'm more than your match," He said, his eyes – now a pair of red gems coming out from the side of his head – shone brighter. "My dear, dear _brother_."

"Earl," Tyki said, stepping to the Earl, who only gave him a questioning look as he took a stance beside him. "You take Road and Wisely and run for it."

"Are you insane, Tyki-pon?" He asked, incredulous, yet still fail spectacularly to drop the suffix. "You'll die!"

"I can't have you die here, you know." Tyki replied with a grim smile. "Now go, before he got all of us."

He nodded to Sheryl, who was now surrounded by the rest of the so-called Noahs. Their _family_. It means they've been played all along, and his Memory of Joy had twitched strangely. It no longer tried to take over him, Tyki sourly noted, but rather to encourage him to _destroy_ these sons of bitches before him. What had happened, for them to infiltrate and root this deeply?

Well, he guessed he'll never find out. He'll let his memory find it for him.

"But –"

"Am I late for a party, or something?"

A sudden flash of light come from behind them, striking the puppet and vaporize the thing in one go. The light – a blue snake of fire, Tyki made out from amidst the chaos – turned to the side and struck at something behind the oak tree they had in the garden. Sounds of boots hitting the marble stone entered his ears, and he turned only to see a rather annoyed face of a certain man they had just talked about.

"I guess I'm late, then, seeing that the manor is already blown into fucking heaven." The man noted, his long black hair swaying in the breeze. He then gave Sheryl, with his antennae moved about more rapidly than they were before, a wicked grin. "And I don't suppose I have to introduce myself to you, either."

"Kanda Yuu, hmm?" Sheryl crooned. "What a surprise. I didn't think _you_ are the one who's the Templar's second-in-command."

The Templar? Second-in-command? What the fuck?

"Well, that means our intelligence network still works efficiently, isn't it?" He retorted with a shrug, and then pointed to where his snake-fire had struck before. "I'm more surprised at how you were hiding here all along, you damn hammer-wielding piece of fuck."

From the smoke came three-horned (well, one was broken), four-eyed demon with a great hammer on its shoulder. It gave Kanda a crooked grin, and was return with something of the same sort. Tyki unconsciously stepped back, his instinct screaming at him to get away from the about-to-start conflict.

"Well, well, well, what have we 'ere? A wicked child, curious cats who's about to get killed, and a rather delusional dragon-kin, aren't we?" It said, revealing another set of arms beneath the original ones. "I'll have you know, I'm more comfortable in this smaller form. Do not mistake size for power."

"I never said I did." He shrugged as annoyingly as he possibly could. If it was directed at Tyki, he would've socked the boy's face by now. The Japanese then turned to the Earl, thumbing at the direction opposite from the demons. "Earl, might I suggest you go running while I deal with these pricks?"

"You – why are you _saving me_?"

"Well, that wasn't originally my intention. I was just hunting for _that thing_ ," He pointed at the four-horned demon rudely. "You're just something I happened upon along the way. Anyhow, you've seen it, right?"

"Only part of – _is this even the time for this!?_ " He almost screeched, and it was kind of funny.

What's more hilarious (or curious) is the fact that none of the other Noahs, or even the four-horned made a move when they bickered about. He had no idea why, nor did he care for an answer.

"We can always discuss it later, when we have no more pests to pester us." His voice turned cold, and the sword in his right hand emitted a rather ominous coldness that seeped easily and frighteningly into Tyki's bones. "You can go to the Llyweilun's manor. You know it, right?"

"Yes, but what –"

"Just stop asking shits and _go_ ," Kanda spat. "You'll see everything when I'm done here. I promise."

"Why should I even trust you?"

"I don't know. Scout's honor?"

Tyki blurted out laughing, and the Earl frowned.

"What the –"

"Just _go already_ , you pig." Kanda said with a ring of finality in his voice as he raised his blade. Then the answer to Tyki's latest questing came. Hidden under a sort of spell was a metallic, demonic dragon with its hide made of obsidian steel, its wings composed of equally black blade-like feathers. The span of the wings were enough to cover the manor's (before its destruction) premise, and its chest and mouth was filled with blue lava, its manes made of fire, and its eyes sapphire blue and promising deadly outcome should anyone come near.

Without another delay, they fled, hearing faint roars and explosions behind them as who-know-what waged war on each other.

* * *

 ** _Second Fragment: Kaijuu_**

Kaijuu was just your ordinary, soul-eating demon.

Sure, demons are always perceived as deadly, obnoxious, and bringers of bad luck, death, loss and diseases. He might seem that way, given his hideous appearance, but the souls he feasts upon are strictly the souls of the damned – rapists, murderers – and the souls artificially and abnormally created; souls of the Akumas.

Unlike most people may think, the souls that were used to make Akumas are not the same as the soul of the Akumas themselves. The reason why Akumas had their own personalities, their unique traits, comes from the fact that they used souls of human beings to fuel their _artificial souls_ , housed within their metallic body. When a certain point was reached, the Akuma's soul would outright devoured the fuel – that is, human's soul – and becomes independent with access to full power a soul could… that is, to become an Exceed.

Once that stage is reached, there's no saving the poor souls that's devoured now. Only thing they can do is to destroy the being born from it.

Kaijuu is such things, the devourer of souls, the binge eater, the seeker of the spurned. He would often roam the night and attacked any and all things that he made out to be the souls categorized above. Sometimes their wives and children would try to stop him from eating them. He just ignored their pleas and proceeded without much thought. Eating, chomping, devouring, that kind of thing is like a feast to a man for him. An eternal feast.

He needed no purpose, no master or underlings, just thing. Roaming about and gulping down souls are enough to sate him. So he did, flying high in the sky to avoid any attention, and then swooped down at night to eat those he deemed _delicious_ enough. The more heavily drenched in sins the souls are, the better they taste.

Other things that tasted nice are the demons themselves. And Kaijuu had made himself known by eating anything he came across. Every time he did, he grew stronger, fiercer. As his reputation grew, less and less demons dared came into his view – they probably fled, out of fear. Those who remained are either fearless ones, over-confident ones, or just fools. He'd eat them all.

One day, a dragon that existed in a different plane crossed path with him. His immediate respond was to open his mouth and snap down at his wing, only for his prized teeth to fall off. It felt like he's just bitten a harder-than-diamond wing with the temperature that could rival the sun's surface. The dragon, unlike those that bested him, did not fight or try to shoo him away. He just looked at him a while longer, the flame that made his insides flickering ever so slightly and just that, the dragon left.

The second time they met was at the beginning of the Three Days of Darkness – the day where the Dark God and the Light God and their stupid wars flood the world, and covered them in darkness. Now he had to wait for humans to start flourishing again to start eating. He met the dragon, who perched on the high mountain at the center of it all, who looked down at the Ark and the flood and all the dead bodies floating up to the water's surface with such agony Kaijuu mistaken him for their guardian angles.

 _Join me, dear devourer_ ; the dragon had invited him, without looking at his direction as his blue eyes reflected nothing but pain.

 _How is it that you looked so distraught?_

 _I am quite fond of the humans and their progresses. I have never wanted to participate in the war, for I wish not to be anyone's underlings. But now, every waking minute I'm regretting my decision to stand at the side. What would it turn out, had I joined? I could've just found the way to fight independently… ah, I'm boring you with my muse. Please rest here awhile. It'll take years until you have human souls to feast on again._

 _You love the humans that much?_ He had asked, curious.

 _I love everything and loathed everything that the All Father created._ The dragon mused as he raised his head a little higher as the sound of thunder registered into his senses. _Have you any purpose, my dear devourer of souls?_

 _Nay, I'm satisfied with my eternal feast._ He had replied. What a fool he was, back in the day of the First War. _I can eat what I please. I don't need anything as useless as a purpose._

 _It might give you a new perspective in life._ The dragon still persisted.

 _And what would I get of having this…_ _ **purpose**_ _you speak of?_

 _Souls, for one._ The dragon paused, and added with something Kaijuu later recognized as an amused smile. _And life, for the other._

 _I'll try it then. But if it is not good, I'll be eating your head for a change._

 _Very well._

 _What are you called?_

 _My name is Seth._

Seth, the Kingslayer, the Devourer of Gods, the Regicide… that Seth who, according to legends, are the ones who fought against the All Father long ago? Why is someone like this wishing to serve the All Father?

There were so many questions that _beckoned_ him to find the answers.

And so begins the very decisions that changed his life forever.

* * *

 ** _Yep. I just did that. Cut cut cut into a thousand pieces :p_**

 ** _Hahaha I kind of think I need to slow down a bit :P_**

 ** _Please read and Review, dear sirs and missus!_**


	20. Chapter 20

**_My GOD this took more out of me than I think it would. And I think I kill off more characters than I had originally intended. But PLOT POWERS! :D_**

 ** _Thank you to KyraEnsui, Lena-luvs-cats and karina001 for reviewing!_**

 ** _Here goes!_**

 ** _BEWARE: Typos ahead, as per usual. My Beta-reading skill still sucks :P_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Twenty: Beyond the Veil_**

Seth roared and took into the sky.

His chest burned ever brighter, and in a single intake of breath, he let out a fireball so bright it blinded the traitorous Noahs into stillness. Tusk, however, was not deterred by such feat and raised his hammer. It twisted and, with a screech, grew a distorted face. From the mouth came ashen mist that worked its way up in between the dragon and itself, blocking the fire's path. The heat was still considerable, as even the rock _melted_ and instant the fire exploded, hot air swallowing the area whole in one fell swoop.

Kanda only watched from where he stood, sword rested firmly on his shoulder with his muscles ready to swing it at full strength. No, he refused to let his guard down. Now that the cause of Lavi's problem is present, he would not let his opportunity slipped by him.

His dark eyes scanned the crater, and then he swung once, the air itself gotten cut as his Innocence cleaved the very space itself, splitting Sheryl's arm from his body. The thing screamed in pain and retreated back to the safety of the ashen mist. The Japanese only cursed under his breath as he missed the chance to kill Sheryl, second time today now, and looked up at the dragon who seemed as annoyed as he is.

"Seth!" He called, and after the dragon managed to spare him a quick glance, he thumbed at the direction of Tusk. "Go punch his ass into heaven."

"You do it." Seth gnarled back, inhaling sharply yet again, this time blowing from his jaws fireballs, each the size of one Sir Komulin. After the blasts were deflected, he groaned in defeat. "Oh _fine!_ Melee combat you seek, melee combat you will get, you sodding piece of –"

"Calm the fuck down, hey," Kanda said, half-laughing. Seth losing temper is kind of a blast to watch. "And you, Tusk the whatever."

"What is it?" He was surprised the demon would answer his calling at all.

"Do us a favor and go fuck yourself."

"If you would be so kind to venture to the deepest corner of hell first, then I'll oblige to your wish."

That's one fancy way of saying "go to hell", he noted.

Kanda only grinned before looking up at the dragon, whose flame had already engulfed his entire body, turning him into a walking explosive. Seth roared then bolted up into the sky, high above the clouds and out of sight.

"What's this? Your so-called partner had chosen to abandon you already? What a sodding excuse of an Innocence!" Tusk said mockingly, lowering his staff for a second. The ashen mist had thinned, and the Japanese gave out a wicked smirk in return. Tusk then knew, a bit too late, that he had made a mistake.

He put a finger on his lips, and clicked his tongue once. "Be careful what you're saying. He can still here ya~"

Seth then sped down from above the skyline, like a meteor, and crashed head-first into where the traitorous Noahs and the demon sorcerer were. The crater resulting from the crash was ten times larger than Seth's body, and Kanda had to retreat to the sky (he had an ability that's quite similar to Tyki, only a bit more complicated) and stood on thin air. He whistled at the scale of destruction his partner just brought,

When the dragon flew out of the smoke and hovered at his side, he nudged him with the hilt of his sword. "That's one hell of a drop, mate."

"Thank you for the compliment." He inclined his head slightly. "Well, that was refreshing. Ten times better when that bastard just badmouthed me."

Kanda shrugged and laughed. "True, true. But, for the record, I'm going to hold this against you till the day you die."

The dragon swiftly turned to Kanda's direction, frowning (if that was even possible, with a dot for an eye) and gnarling lowly. "Wait, wait, Kanda, what the fuck was that s'posed to mean?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, you almost _crushed_ me."

"But you did _not_ get smashed."

"It still counts."

"You prick; you planned that out, too?"

A knowing smirk came creeping onto Kanda's lips. He seemed almost satisfied at the result. "Why ask when you already know the answer?"

"Why am I even considering you a partner in the first place?" Seth gritted out between an annoyed grunt and what Kanda thought was laughter, of a sort. He only shook his draconic head and gave out an ear-splitting roar, clearing out the smoke in one instant.

His mighty howl revealed Tusk, now without a smile on his face, with some of the Noahs already going through the ridge in the space, much different from the Earl's Black Ark. Tusk then stabbed his staff into the earth, gnarling under its breath. Kanda wiped his smile off his face as Seth retreated back into his worm-like form, his six tails waving slowly and terribly nervously. The young man then dropped down from where he stood in the air and landed softly onto the ground.

When the last of the Noah (Sheryl had given him a _you're-dead_ look before going through the door, too…. What an idiot) disappeared, Tusk straightened himself up, covering his surroundings with a thicker, fouler-smell ashen mist he employed from not his staff, but his mouth.

"Took you awhile to stop playing, Sorcerer," Kanda said with a humorless grin as he brandished his sword experimentally. The Taint had died down, for now at least… it's be wise if he fought a bit more cautiously than he did Apocrapper or he'll risk writhing for a whole week.

"You're walking on a thread here, fools. I'll not warn you twice." The demon snarled and stabbed his staff twice, his eyes glowing brighter as his scaly skin became ashen-gray in color, with embers littering across it.

"I'm waking on a fucking thread all the time." He stated with a carefree shrug, his new signature move. He briefly wondered what changed him into a dare-devil that liked nothing more to piss off his opinion before a fight. Maybe it was because he liked the challenge? Nah… "Your foolhardily threats bore no weight, and so does your chameleon ability."

"Chameleon? _Chameleon,_ you think this _is_?" He finally snapped, pointing at his ashen skin to confirm Kanda's words. Once that was completed, he lost it completely and bellowed at the top of his lungs. "You _stupid fool_ , I'll show you just how _powerful_ this _Ashen Skin_ of mine really is!"

"Ooo, he's coming!"

"Take this a bit more seriously, you idiot!" Seth warned urgently.

Not long after, a force unseen tore through the air. Kanda hadn't realized what was happening until he saw his arm, still clutching Mugen, flew into the air with a trail of blood connecting it to the stump.

He suddenly realized that he had overestimated his reflexes timing. He had forgotten to factor in the Taint, and that became his downfall. He gritted his teeth, ignoring Seth's reprimanding words, and took of the binders on his left arm. It was now covered in crystalline substances; blood red with black here and there, and it was glowing and pulsating as if it was alive. The pain shot up throughout hit body, and he bit his own tongue to stop the grunt that was about to escape.

With a short burst of breath, he stomped the ground with his left foot and went into a wide-gait stance, then use his left arm to hammer Tusk's claws away from him. He closed his right eye, and turned his left one into cold steel blue in color – the same as when he first used Mugen, and Seth, to the fullest. With a feral snarl, he tore open the space between them with his left hand, and forced Tusk further away as he skidded back to his arm, picked it up, and connected it to the stump without leaving his eyes from Tusk.

"I sure hate myself sometimes." He murmured with an unamused grin. After giving the limb an experimental swing, he ignited his left hand, covering it in blue flame, and gave Tusk one uncovered middle finger. "Now I'm going to fucking tear you into a thousand pieces, you damn Chameleon."

The demon roared, throwing away his moaning hammer and unfolded the two extra arms, crouching down into the stance of a beast.

"We will see who will get the last laugh, fool!"

"Me, of course!" Kanda said with a grin on his face.

 _Oh, this is going to be_ _ **so much fun!**_

* * *

"This is bullshit. Bullshit, I tell you!"

Lavi wailed as he threw the book he was reading in to the air and flopped onto the papers scattered around the aisle. The Grand Archive was so large he got lost, so he took a liking to the books around here. It's been _hours_ , and there's not a soul that would come to his rescue! Why, _why god why!_

That sentence was directed to a girl, no more past her fourteenth, who had insisted on accompanying him here. Nina, her name was, said that Kanda said she was _supposed_ to guide him and show him around the first level. They got lost after Lavi finished reading the first section she suggested, the story of the gods. It's not that he's complaining that the stories he read was bullshit – it was rather believable, and explained almost everything he had experienced – but _getting lost in a library_ when you are _the_ Bookman is _NOT_ acceptable.

"Um, Lavi-san," She said with shaky voice, her hand rose as if asking for the permission she did not need. Lavi only nodded at her, and she continued. "I think you can just call Komui-san to pick you up… can't you?"

"He is overseeing the operation in Barcelona," Lavi replied, sighing and putting both hands behind his head. "It is a kind of covert ops, so no; I don't want to jeopardize the mission. And he'll be finishing that in only a few more hours, so…"

"You just finished this row, didn't you, Lavi-san." Nina said absently. It was as if she knew Lavi's only way to wait that long was to read something.

"I did."

"What a shame." She murmured. "What a shame…"

"By the way," Lavi began. He just found a new way to kill some time. "Nina-chan, how did you know Yuu?"

"He's a –" She stopped herself midway, as if saying it was forbidden. She had to swallow twice before she even allowed herself to continue. Lavi observed this with undivided interest. "He's pretty _famous_ –"

" _In_ famous?"

" _Famous_ , Lavi-san," She cut Lavi off with a pout, sticking her tongue out at him. The red-head faked a butt hurt expression. "I met him when he came here to look for something, and asked for my help instead of Clara-san or Isaac-san…"

"Oh? Is he that _kind_ a guy?"

"Lavi-san, you know him longer than I do. What do you think?"

Lavi opened his mouth, but something stuck in his throat. He thought he had gleaned everything there is about Kanda Yuu. He was dead wrong more than a few times already. Before the London mission, he thought Kanda was just this, a guy with a foul mouth and zero social skills. But something… _suddenly_ , and terrifyingly, changed. For the better, or for the worse, he did not know.

Lavi's frowned only deepened as he dwelled on the thought. The girl was pretty observant, Lavi noted dully, as she stepped back and let him thought on it some more.

Then came a hum from far distance, and it took Lavi out of his trance. It was so lively, happy, without a care. He recognized the voice, but he couldn't quite place the voice to the face. So he went over to the source, slowly, carefully, and popped his head around the corner.

The owner of the voice noticed him, and smiled, "Oh, hello, Lavi."

"The girl with the foul mouth!" Lavi instantly shouted and realized too late what had escaped his lips.

In a total of three seconds and a half, he was beaten to a pulp and got dumped onto the pile of papers wench he had gotten up from. Nina looked amused, and the girl in blonde frowned at him. Her green eyes darted to his finger, where he had worn the Templar's ring, and eased up.

"That's not a way to call a girl," She said, at last, helping him up gingerly. "I'm sorry, by the way. And oh, my name –"

"S'Clara, I know," Lavi finished the sentence for her, rubbing the large mass that was the resulted of her axe-kick. "We got off to the wrong start."

"Again."

"Again," Lavi mused. "What are you doing here?"

"I could say the same for you." She retorted, but kept her smile on her face and went to Nina, talked to her in Russian for a while. The girl then nodded, giving Lavi a tongue (and he had looked at it, puzzled) before tracing back to where Clara came from. "I'm here for report materials. You know, something that would shed light on what I've just _fucking_ met."

"Templars have to write _reports?_ " Lavi stressed. "Jeez, and here I had hoped I wouldn't have to do that."

"You still do, only, you only write down the important parts. Details skipped!"

"Bless your superiors." Lavi murmured before tracking back and asked Clara, who was using her foot (how rude) to prode at the books on the floor. "By the way – Clara, was it? – what ya looking for?"

"If I recall correctly, it's something about _Origins of Clans of the Exceeds_." She replied, frowning as she saw a book that was not close to what she was trying to find at all. "Agh, where the hell was it?"

"You mean at the beginning where the Exceeds started forming groups of familiar attributed creatures and worked as a small platoon?"

She gave him twinkly eyes and said, much too excited, "Yes! That!"

"I've read it. I remembered it," He continued, smiling. "I can tell you."

"That'd be great, Lavi!" She let out a laugh before patting his shoulders, her face a bit strained. "And, um, sorry for everything up before Kanda gave you the ring. I am just not good with people outside of the Order."

"No probs, Yuu gave me a heads-up already."

"When…?"

"Yesterday?"

It came out more of a question than an answer, because Lavi had forgotten just how long it had been, so engrossed in all these new details were he. Clara was different, too, from before. The first time they met, she was quite hostile towards him. Now that he was part of the "Family", as Richard had dubbed it, she was more open, although that mouth of hers still hadn't been fixed.

"By the way, what's with that Nina girl? Why's someone so young here?"

"Kanda haven't told you?" She inquired as she led him out of the labyrinth and headed for the center of the first floor, where thousands of desks and chairs littered all over. She gestured for him to set at the nearest corner.

"Nope." He denied, dropping down and crossed his legs, whistling softly at how huge the place was. "He only said that she's the "Same as me"."

"Ah," Clara murmured, dawned in understanding. And upon seeing whatever look developed on his face, she elaborated. "Well, Kanda told us you're going to join us as a Historian. She's one, too."

"Historians?" Lavi repeated. "What's that?"

"They're like Bookmen, only they do _take sides_ in wars, not standing by and do nothing." She said, almost meaning to disrespect the Bookman. Her tone did say otherwise. "They've been with us for a long time. When a war broke out, they impartially studied the cause of the war and found one with the purest and truest of intentions before joining."

"Aren't they just simply _taking sides_ , though, like that?"

"They all know there's nothing that justifies waging wars." She said. "They take parts in them because that's the only way they will be able to end it the soonest. Purest and Truest intentions never mean justified in their books."

"That's quite complicate." Lavi mused. To take part in a war and record it without bias is not something Bookmen do. But from what he had seen written over these piles of books, he can say that they did an even better job for being impartial and unbiased than the Bookmen ever were. "I don't think I'll be able to do it that well. Look at me. I'm going to go batshit bias in recording this holy war."

"They'll teach you their way." She shrugged. "We're off topic here. So, why Nina, you asked? Well… she's an apprentice, much like you."

"She _what_?"

"A Historian's apprentice." Clara repeated herself, a bit amused and as much annoyed. "Much like ye folks."

"I see." Lavi murmured, his mind wondering to his times with Bookman. That's why he felt oddly familiar; she was just like him, a student. He absently twirled the collar of his shirt with his finger as he continued, "Oh yes, about what you need for your reports."

"Oh, right." Clara clapped her hands. "I met some Exceeds – the Black Knights, if you will – they didn't really attempt to kill me or anything. They just quote some guy's words, and I was wondering if it had anything to do with anything at all."

"What kind of _quote_ is this?" The red head inquired.

"I don't care to remember it all –"

"Then _how_ do you think _I_ can help you?" Lavi gritted out, almost slapping at the table. He eventually suppressed the urge to hit her upside-down (he does _not_ hit a girl, he does _not_ hit a girl) and to change the subject, he asked. "I a surprised you're now all happy-go-lucky, completely at ease, and friendly with _me_ , who just joined the Templars. You mentioned you weren't great with people outside the Order, but I didn't think a few days would change your attitude that much."

"I have psychological problems." She admitted easily, shrugging. "Trust issues that run in the family. Pretty annoying, but keeps me alive most of the time, so I got no complain on that."

"Care to elaborate?"

"No."

That killed the conversation quickly.

Lavi made a circular hand motion, rewinding back their talks, and re-asked what he had inquired before for a second time. "So, about the quote you just said, what's it about?"

"They said something about, let's see… Ah! The Königsmörder."

"German?" Lavi murmured, rubbing his chin and frowning slightly. "One of those languages I'm not efficient with again. But I've read something like that before, in one of the reports dating back to the Three Days of Darkness."

"Back that far?" She repeated, tapping at her cheek as he thought on it, her eyes wondering from one end of the Archive to the other. She hummed quietly before yelling across the hall (might Lavi reminded you all that this Archive is a _fucking library?_ ) for a researching scientist to bring her a book.

"The Manner, Clara-chan, the _manner_."

"Well, I need to finish this quick so I can get on with my next mission." She stated tiredly. "So fuck manners."

"You're worse than Yuu at this."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"I wasn't complimenting."

"First day I considered you a friend, and I hated you already," She smiled all too sweetly and tapping patiently at the table. She hummed a strange tune Lavi didn't recognized and looked sideways. "Hmm, well… let's find the meaning of Königsmörder. If we can do that, then we can pick up from there."

"On that, I agree with you." Lavi was actually quite glad she changed the subject on her own accord. If she hadn't, he would've drowned in something in-between awkwardness and annoyance.

"Oh!"

"What is it?"

"I remembered what that guy said now!" She said, slamming her fist onto her open palms and smile. "He said this; _Beware the Königsmörder, for he is as much your enemy as our Old God. Trust him, and you will know the true terror of Betrayal."_

"…that does not help."

"If we find out the meaning, then it will!"

Lavi doubted it, but he relented, nodded and smile.

"Well, let's dive in, shall we?"

* * *

 _Fire that scorches the earth, over and over,_

Kanda snarled as he swung his sword as hard as he could, deflecting blows after blows from Tusk, who looked like he was enjoying the fight. Kanda let loose a nasty roar before plunging his sword deep into the ground and swung it up, blinding Tusk temporarily with dirt.

His left arm was becoming somewhat an object of instant-death for the meager sorcerer, whose horn was immediately grinded to dust by it. He had underestimated sure-kill technique Kanda had, but he also knew the kid wouldn't be able to hold himself together for long. He knew the Taint well. He studied it. He _knew_ what it is.

The Taint is a dangerous thing that even demons don't dare use.

 ** _Königsmörder is a German word_** _._

The reason Kanda closed his right eye was probably because he wanted to draw out the Taint's full strength. But doing so would mean that he forsook his humanity for power. His normal eye represented his slipping humanity, and his left, the power of the dark. If this continues…

 _Roar that shatters the sky and rends space itself._

Not even Tusk knew what would happen next.

And he ain't keen on finding out.

He turned his staff into a hooked greatsword covered in ash, and he swung it at full speed at the young man. He dodged. The creature on his shoulder – the damnable dragon, Seth – was speaking something with dire clear in his face. The young man frowned and retorted something back and only then did Tusk realize just how much Kanda was sweating. Looking further, he saw a tiny – but noticeable – collection of blood in the white of Kanda's eye.

 ** _A fancy name given to those who had committed grave sins,_**

The longer the fight dragged on, the more he realized just how insane Kanda really was. Who in their right mind would choose this?

Cutting off that arm and live one-armed or with prosthetic is an obviously better and healthier choice. To let the Taint get that far is like submitting your body and your soul to the Old God himself!

 _The blood-curdling screams feed the soul, and the soul feeds the fire,_

Seth's facial expression became torn between worry, anger and fear. Tusk had not recognized at first what he was, but that expression was familiar. He had seen it somewhere before, and surely, Seth remembered, too, because the way he looked at him, _pleading_ him –

Seth was the one who asked him to end his accommodator, inflicted and driven mad by the Taint, thousands of years before, when he was called –

Ah.

 _Seth, the God of Red Sand, the King of the Desert_.

"You're him, the old Egyptian Deity." He suddenly spoke, and it took Seth by surprised. The fight abruptly came to a stop, where Kanda knelt on one knee and panted heavily, while Tusk only started blankly at an old friend and gave him a long frown. "You're him. Why haven't I noticed sooner?"

"…Who're you?" Seth asked, not too comfortable. The creature then took a careful glance at his partner, whose hand was clutching tightly at the arm. His breath was shaky, and his only opened eye dimmed. "Kanda –"

"I'm –" He cut himself off, grunting and coughing up blood – bright red, with a mixture of black – onto the ground. "Fi…ne… Why… you –"

"Seth is an old friend, if he remembers me at all." Tusk clarified at the unspoken question and planted his sword firmly on the ground. "Do you not remember me? We met when I was human. I'm Ammon –"

"That stupid scholar!?" Seth suddenly burst out. Kanda gave him a weak – if any – glare at the mentioning. "You're that _guy_ who answered to my request, really? What the fuck in hell happened?"

"I searched for answer, and I became this." He said. "The story you knew is true. And now you knew who I was."

Ammon is a scholar so fixated on immortal life. The sole reason he befriended Seth and answered his request for ending his accommodator's life was for the one goal; the answer for eternal life. Seth, as time proved, cannot provide him with the answer he seeks, so they part ways.

"You're an idiot, giving your soul to the Old God for something like this."

"And your accommodator is no better than I." He pointed out, looking down on the now writhing Kanda, who was standing tall and proud not too long ago. "What fool is he, hoping to contain the Taint and use its power? His ambitions are no lesser than mine, Seth."

"At least he didn't kill innocents to fulfill his goal like _you_." Seth snapped.

"You're making my resolve stronger and stronger," Ammon, as was his old name, said as he took his staff into both hands and raised it above his head, his demonic eyes shining brightly. "Now I have no reason to not kill him."

"You fell right into our jaws!"

With all that he had, Kanda roared and tear through Ammon's throat with his left, demon-like arm, his vocal cords and trachea separated from his throat in one swift motion. Without strength to support his weight, Kanda fell face-first into the ground, panting heavily, his hand still clutching at the windpipe. He shifted slightly to take a good look at Ammon,

Ammon, whose eyes had rolled back into his head and started gurgling senselessly up into the sky, hands clawing at the hole in his throat. Ammon, whose life slowly ebbed away as his knees hit the ground, as the staff fell from his grasp. He had breathed his final breath,

And with a last shudder, he fell, dead for good.

"That was some damn shite trap you set." Seth commented as he tore the windpipe away from Kanda's fingers. The Japanese laughed and hissed as his broken ribs jabbed at his chest. "Hey, don't laugh."

"He's shittier than I thought." The man commented between tired laughter. He crawled a bit and supported himself up with his right arm, while his left dangled at his side. "To think a scholar would fall for _my_ act, of all things."

"It's a shame we had to kill him thought. He might be able to help you with the damnable Taint."

"He can't. He'd said it."

"True."

"So," Kanda began, finally scrambling himself off of the blood-soak ground and glanced sideways at the now dead sorcerer once. "That was easy."

"Can you move?" Seth murmured. Kanda responded by getting up to his knees and heaved. "Let's rest here awhile and sealed that arm back. We'll move when you're ready."

 ** _Königsmörder_**

"If you say…"

Kanda's sudden pause made Seth's horns and tails perked up in alarm. He looked at the man, now stilled in his place, eyes covered by his bangs.

And a second later, he fell flat again against the ground.

 _Prometheus, the first bearer of the curse, the Titan who carries the First Flame_

 _The Fire of hope_

His mouth was opened, but no sound came out. Then it snapped shut, teeth grinding together. He writhed, struggled where he lay, sweating profusely, eyes shut tight in pain. Seth called out his name, but he didn't respond, right hand clutching at his chest as his heart beat against it like there was no tomorrow.

 _But, as is with everything_

"Kanda! What happened!? Answer me!" Seth cried frantically, trying his best to root out the cause. Then he saw that left arm, twitching and glowing blood red. The skin of that arm cracked, and blood – black blood – oozed out slowly but steadily. Kanda's back hunched further as if to ease the pain, but it was no good. It didn't stop. It only progressed.

 _The Fire fades, and all that remains is ashes_

 _Hope withered, and all that is left is the Abyss, dark and never-ending_

 _The Abyss that is Despair_

The black tendrils crept up from the arm, to his neck, and caressing tenderly at his face. Seth knew what that meant. The curse is spreading, and unless they can seal it, he _will_ die. He willed himself to shapeshift, but all he felt was this emptiness. He had used the power to fight off the curse in Kanda's body too much today already. He couldn't do anything else, or the man will break into pieces. He realized that the curse, and fighting Ammon, took everything he had.

He hadn't regained every last bits of his power yet.

 ** _Means_**

He was about to call for the boy's name again when the blood underneath Ammon's body crept up into the air. He watched in terror as a single eyeball was formed out of it, and then another. Then a face, and a lipless mouth with rows of sharp teeth. Then a crooked smile.

With a breath so rotten Seth could've passed out just by smelling it, the thing spoke, eyes amused and voice covered in glee,

"And so we meet, my dear Königsmörder **,"**

 ** _The Killer of Kings_**

- _Seth is the Killer of Kings, the Regicide, the Devourer of Gods-_

 _-A being exists to take, eat, and tear, at everyone and everything-_

 _-All sins have to be paid, either with something of equal values,-_

 _-Or in blood-_

"…Abaddon…?"

 _The Old God has many names. Lucifer, Satan, and so forth,_

 _But his original name, the True Name of the Old God,_

 _Is Abaddon, the bottomless pit, for his hunger can never be sated._

* * *

 ** _Well, since my studies are kind of demanding, and this is an excellent cliffhangers (Haa!) I might take my time to write the next one. Two, three weeks? Shouldn't be longer than a month, but we'll see. It shouldn't. I won't leave you hanging for long, I promise you :P_**

 ** _Please review! And thank you for reading!_**


	21. Chapter 21

**_Well, I get exam Next Week. Correction: THREE FUCKING DAYS. And look with what I've done with myself. Bah. D:_**

 ** _And yes, this contains more torture, and more hurt, because I'm a torturer :D_**

 ** _Thank you Lena-luvs-cats, karina001, KyraEnsui and frenzy4eva for reviewing, and thanks to you who still keep reading this shit._**

 ** _Please enjoy :D_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Twenty One: Blood Sacrifice_**

He can't see. He can't hear. He can't move.

Pain, there's pain all over.

His heart hammered against his chest, the sound of blood it was pumping was deafening, and every inches in his body pulsated. He coughed, and that unique taste of metal – of blood – bloomed in his mouth. Kanda tried the best he could to breathe, but his chest was tight and his airway seemed to have sealed itself shut. He tried to open his eyes, but he saw only the ground, and blood, and there's –

Something, dark tendrils, crept up into the edge of his vision. Then there was a sting in his left eye – it's hot like fire, and his eye burned. It was as if someone was branding it, washed it with water, only to brand it again. He let out a silent scream, as he didn't have the required air to make a sound. Everything hurt so much. He can't think. He can't breathe.

Sound, in the distant. Someone was calling his name. After what seemed like eternity in the fire pit he was in, he saw the blood moved at the corner of his eyes. The thing spoke. He didn't catch what it said. And he heard a familiar voice – Seth, perhaps – replied. A name.

What name?

There was fog, and his mind turned heavy. Kanda struggled to maintain his half-lid eyes open, to maintain his dwindling focus. But there was so much pain. He was burning, and it took all that he had to _not die_ of the agony. Kanda gritted his teeth harder, and felt something crack – and a stinging pain that hold not a candle against the fire that crept up from his arm to his chest, to his neck and face and spread all over his body.

His pain suddenly eased up – it's not much, but at least he can hear something – voices, in the distant. He exhaled shakily once and opened his eyes, his left still burning like hell, only to be greeted by nothing but darkness. There was a chuckle from a voice unknown.

"As I promised you. Bring it to me, and I'll wipe away your sins."

"My sins are my own," Someone else snarled, he didn't know who it was. It was like he was hearing things from under the water – everything is hazy, and all things only add more to his agony. He _did_ open his eyes, but he can't see a damn thing. Then, "Leave him out of this!"

"But he is your accommodator, is he not?" The other said, and then he felt tendrils – cold yet burning – crept up the side of his face where tongue of flame was licking inside-out. "Ah, what a young lad. It'd be a shame if I take him down here and now, wouldn't it?"

"Leave him out, Abaddon!" The second one yelled. Desperate, that's all Kanda made out in the midst of so many emotions hidden within. "We're working on it! We'll bring it to you! So – _just_ … just _leave him out of this!_ "

"This is the first time I've seen you like this, Königsmörder."

"That's not my name." Someone emitted a growl.

"Oh, but it is. It is what you were, what you are, and what you will continue to be." The voice was mocking. Cruel. Then there was a single hand creeping _through his chest_. The pain wasn't as much as the still-burning fire he was feeling, but it made him gasp. Then he felt something constricted around his heart, the grip firm. "What a fool. You think you can control _this_? To what end? To use against _me_? Please, Seth. You know better than that."

He choked. The grip had extended to his chest, and windpipe, and down into his abdomen – it went everywhere. He couldn't even draw in a gasp of air, and he felt like he was eaten on the inside. He coughed and coughed, the feeling of liquid staining his face lost compared to the burn in his throat. He was spewing out more blood than he was bleeding. And he couldn't _stop_.

"What are you – stop, _stop!_ " The voice was more desperate than it was before, and he felt something moved close to his face. A shadow crossed his vision, and the voice – now closer – continued. "Stop it already! Leave him be! _Please!_ I beg of you!"

"For you to beg, dear Königsmörder." The second one let out a shrill laughter, and then Kanda felt like his head was going to explode. Pain all over, eyes couldn't see. He didn't know what he was doing, but he heard, "To be fair, this is far less struggle I get with, what's his name? Ah, _Prometheus_. Are you sure you would _want_ this boy for the grand plan, Seth?"

"Shut up!" The first one roared. "Shut up, shut up, shut up, _shut up shut up shut up shut up!_ "

"What is he to you? A tool? A slave? A prisoner? Tell me."

"He's a _brother!_ " A screech. "Stop already! _WE_ will bring it to you! So stop! I'm _begging you!_ Don't cause him any more pain!"

The request was ignored, surely, because he couldn't feel anything _but_ pain and _oh_ , how much he wished to die right now. And then he felt his face lifted from the ground, his arms and legs dangling numbly as _something_ coiled both inside and outside, lifting him up. His eyes caught, although blurry, silhouette that looked like a man, with two red eyes and a rotten breath. He only let out a sound stuck between a whisper and a moan, and the thing seemed to grin.

"Ah, what have we here? Quite a resilient one, aren't you, young man?"

The coiling tendrils snapped his right arm's bones into pieces, and he, even if it was without sound, screamed.

"I said –"

"I'll stop only when I pleased. Stay out of my way or I _will_ kill him."

Whatever protest that Seth – probably – had, died in his throat. Kanda looked at the shadow of – why was he using his dragon form when his power is no longer enough to even puff out one fire breath? – Seth, only for his vision to be blocked by a now clearer face made from blood.

"Ahh… Welcome back to the waking world."

"What are you doing!?" Seth hissed, but he didn't move. He could, but that will only bring his accommodator more pain, and they all knew it.

Kanda, now with clearer conscious (although the pain had not lessened), made a sound, willing himself to speak. Only blood came out in place of words, and he was then hung upside-down, a tendril around his neck, and each for one limb. His right, broken arm hanged uselessly as the claws of his left, despite the pain, tried to claw the bindings off of his neck.

"You can't speak. You can't move well. But your mind is clear; that is my doing." The being said with a bow. "My name is Abaddon. I believe we have never _officially_ met."

Seth remained silence. Kanda's eyes widen as he recognized –

"Old… God…?" He croaked out hoarsely.

"Ah, you know what I am! Good, good!" The thing clapped. Before Kanda could get his bearings, that red, crystalline hand went into his mouth, gagging him. He protested by biting, but to no avail. "Tch, tch, that's not a behavior you'd want to continue if you wish to keep your head."

"I've said we will bring it to you! So _stop it already!_ "

"I'm only making certain that _you_ will keep your word, Kingslayer Seth." The Old God said, removing his hand and placed it on his left cheek instead. Kanda could only look, his mind returned to its previous state of being jumbled and foggy. And –

"No, no, _no! STOP!_ "

"Let the branding begin."

Searing pain tore from the cheek through his _whole body_. Fire, it burned, it _hurt!_ His body felt nothing but pain and pain, fire licking from his insides and scalding ice burning from outside. He screamed, at the top of his lungs, until his vocal cords shredded itself into pieces, until his lungs burned and begged for air. But the pain didn't stop. It amplified.

 _Please let me die!_

" _Vivet anima tua_ (Give me your soul)," He heard it said, and then added with so much glee Kanda could burst in disgust, if he hadn't already been gnarling himself inside-out. " _Eratis enim sicut oves errantes sed conversi estis nunc ad pastorem et episcopum animarum vestraru_ (for ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls)."

 _Your soul now belongs to me._

* * *

"Sire!"

The errand boy called from the door. Richard glanced up coldly as his hand continued to write down on the book before him without breaking the pace. The boy heaved as if he had been running through miles and miles. When the boy did not back out of his room, he placed down his pen and asked, half-snarling. "What is it?"

"The – Adam Camelot requested your audience, sire!"

The Earl? So it is true, then, that Kanda had succeeded in planting the seeds of doubts and let him return to the humans. Richard only gave him a nod and waved the boy off before finishing up the few last sentences in the entry. Once done, he promptly got up from his seat and proceeded downstairs, where the maids had no doubt properly welcomed the Earl.

When he arrived in the Main Hall, he was greeted by a slimy, grimy, and a bit shaken-up Earl, who regarded him with strange eyes. Wisely glanced at him, and frowned (As he no doubted saw what he had seen before in his life), while Tyki and Rhode say by each other, consoling, comforting.

"I've been expecting you." He said politely. Wisely caught the lie, but said nothing. The red-haired man lifted his chin up slightly and placed a hand on his chest. "My name is Richard Llyweilun, a Swiss Guard Captain."

"And the leader of the Knight Templars." Wisely concluded from the side. "The memories remember you. _We_ remember you. But are you truly an enemy of us? Or a friend?"

"We'll need to clean out the Dark Matter from your Noah Memories first, if the truths are to be accepted and embraced." He said, shrugging slightly. "You have read my mind, have you not? I tell no lies. That, I can assure you."

Only a hum, he got as a respond.

"So how do we "Clean Ourselves", then?" Tyki was the first to speak after the tense silence. Richard said nothing, only waved at the maid to bright out four flasks labeled "Booze for Noahs", in a messy handwriting. The man noticed this and frowned, but placed each flasks in front of the Noahs. "What's this?"

"It's a drug brewed to flush out the Dark Matter from you." Richard explained. The Earl threw him a glare, and he pointedly ignored it. "Whether you drink it or not is up to you. I won't blame you for not trusting me. But I implore you to trust the man that rescued you from the jaws of dark."

"I… I do trust him." The Earl finally spoke, his eyes fixated on the flask. "He had many opportunities to end me. And all this… information I've found. We are… he's right. We are no enemies."

Without delay, he took a swig at the flask and set it down with a satisfied sigh.

The Grandmaster smiled at him and bowed. "Thank you for trusting us."

"Mhm, whatever you say."

The rest of the Noahs, albeit reluctant, followed his lead. The drink – with strong stench about it – was slightly sour, with a strange taste left at the tip of their tongues. But alas, neither pain nor unpleasant feelings befall them. Wisely read at Richard's mind and frowned. "That long?"

"What long?" Tyki asked from the side, setting the flask down after he had poured every last drops down his throat.

"It'll take some time for the Dark Matter to wear off… After that, well, we shall see. You'll feel different, but I don't know how." Richard explained in a very compacted way, and Tyki was grateful. He felt like _not_ listening to anything else until he got a good night – or ten – in a comfortable bed.

"Shouldn't you be checking on Kanda Yuu, though?" The Earl inquired.

What he got was an intense silence, once Richard clearly wasn't comfortable with. The man only tightened his already strangling necktie and walked to sit at the head of the glass table they were surrounding.

"He…" The man began and trailed off on his own, brows frowning. He almost broke the skin of his hands by fisting, hard, and his eyes were on something that was not there. He gritted his teeth, forcefully pulled his head up so that his chin may be held high, and spoke, something dark hidden 'neath his voice. "He didn't… rightly tell me what he's doing, only that you'll be coming here. I felt like I have no rights to… interfere…"

"He didn't tell you what he was planning, is he?" The Earl pointed out bluntly.

Richard failed to respond.

"When people keep secrets, it kills whatever trusts they earned, oh-so-easily," Adam murmured quietly, rubbing at his chin and rested his face on his open hand. He sighed quietly. "I do believe he has a good reason, however. Some things, I think, are never meant to be shared."

"That is true," Richard said through gritted teeth. "That does not apply when said person hid his health conditions, his dealings in the black markets, and his talks behind my back from me for _six damn months_ and telling _only partial truths_ to me after _every_ mission, however."

"…well…"

No one had a comment for that.

"But that man is a genius when it comes to this sort of things," He continued on his own, the tension in his shoulders slowly eased away. "He always… has reasons for every little thing he did. Didn't outright show it, but it's there, I've witnessed it many times. So I took risk believing him. Haven't failed me once."

A nod. "Mhm. That's about right."

"Enough with the heavy talks," The Grandmaster changed the subject of their talks abruptly, throwing the mood into flips and turns. He clapped his hands and ordered the maids to bring out wines from the cellar. "Kanda had also arranged for some of the finest wines to be served, to congratulate you on your return to us, free from harm."

"What kind of wine? Please don't tell me Cross' _Romanee Conti._ "

"Our tastes are not that severe." Richard laughed, bringing into view a black glass bottle with aged labels. "1775 Russian's _Massandra_ , at your table."

"It's it worth like _a house per bottle?_ " Tyki was positively drooling at the sight. Massandra from Russia was one of the most hard-to-get, and allegedly the best taste there is in Russia. He had been wondering if he'd at the chance to drink one, because even _money_ can't buy it. Only certain collectors have it, and they all acquired these things _one bottle per person_ , as a personal favor. "How did you get it?"

"Well… the Templars _owned_ that Winery." He said, almost shyly.

Tyki slammed the table. "That's it; count me into your folds!"

 _"_ _Tyki!"_

"We also have bottles from 1788's _Château de Goulaine_ ," Richard continued on, placing Massandra on the table and brought out another one, one of the oldest wine from winery of the same name. And the year's the year of its _founding_ , too! Even Wisely started to lean in close, and the Earl expressed some serious interest. "1525's _Schloss Johanisberg_ is also here."

"I'm in." The Earl stated, matter-of-factly.

"Haha! I knew you would!" Tyki said, half accusing.

"How did you get all this, anyways? And _this many?_ " Adam asked as his hands worked its way to the _Massandra_ , poured it into the glass and took a whiff at it. He made out a satisfied _Hmm_ before Richard answer.

"Black Markets. Asked Kanda yourself; that man brought these things here." He frowned slightly. "Well, not that I complained or anything."

"But are you truly going to leave him to his business like that?" Wisely inquired as he took a sip from the glass, and then made a satisfied hum. "Hmm, this indeed is quite a rare find. _Schloss Johanisberg_ winery at its finest."

The Grandmaster rubbed his glass as if it would call forth the Djinn from the tale of Aladdin. Then he shook his head. "I've sent scouts just a moment before you arrived. Should he find anything strange, he'll report back to me. If I got there now, all I might be is a hindrance."

"Is he really that good?" Wisely continued.

"He _is_ good," Richard replied. "But he's at the same level as us, the Inner Sanctum of the Knight Templars. We've a code to follow; that we shan't get in the way of our fellow Knights, for when we fight, we fight best when we're not accompanied."

"Even when you're outnumbered?"

"In that case, we usually paired up. The most active individuals at times are four, and that's when we fought the Old God – through his _puppets_ – back in the time of the war that sunk the entirety of the Spanish Armada in July 29, 1588. So many lives lost that day… and many of our own were swollen whole by the raging seas."

"So you sided with England in that war?"

A pause.

"No." He said at last. "We were the Spanish Armada."

"I thought you were the English men." Earl asked. "I mean, Akumas infested the Armada in –"

"We've cut them down, with magic to prevent you from knowing it before we set off for England." He cut the Earl off, chuckling in a large gulp of wine. "And I must add that at the time England was the base of operation for the Old One – with Queen Elizabeth as their unknowing pawn. But we need to wage war because that damnable seaman _Francis Drake_ sunk my men into the sea."

"Wait… but the Queen later became our enemy." The Earl argued, frowning as he gave himself another swig of the wine without pause.

Richard smiled mildly. "It is because once another group managed to infiltrate the country, they've made the queen know of the Hidden War. It turned out that she is quite a talented accommodator, too." He smiled and the fond memory, and then it faded, with a mourning gaze directed down at his hands. "I failed her, and was unable to prevent her from contracting the Old One's _poison_. She died years later, but at least she had lived quite a live."

Tyki, impeccable in his timing as he was, raised a glass. The Earl had just noticed that the man was already _pissed drunk_.

The man then slurred, "Then hail to the queen long past."

Oh, this is absolute disaster.

But, to his surprise, Richard raised his glass. "To the queen long past."

There are so many things he didn't know. And with Kanda's aid, he's now able to see the world in different angles.

Maybe, just maybe, his family might find salvation under their wings.

* * *

Dahlia's training is actually quite fruitful.

Lavi thought solemnly as he can now dodged her sharp claws without the aid of his Innocence, known from Clara to be named _Bran_ , the First Scholar. The name is pretty ironic, actually, since one of the men who had his Innocence is the creator of the _Ravens_ , which eventually became the CROWs. _Bran_ means _raven_ in Irish, so there's the connection.

As the matter of what the fuck does _First Scholar_ meant, she didn't know, and that only those Bran accepted as an accommodator knew. And he realized he just _had to stop pondering_ things all the time now, since he was about to lose his head to Dahlia's wings. He whistled and looked at Allen who, after a long two hours, could continue without wheezing _all that much_. Lung exercise, he gotta praise it.

And also, there's a thing regarding the Königsmörder… _Killer of Kings_ is its meaning. Clara didn't recall any Innocence or accommodator, past present or future, to ever be regarded by that name before. So they've arrived at an impasse. But he had a faint idea that at least the Königsmörder must be an acquaintance to the Templars, or even _inside_ the Templars.

But after they finished their (fruitless) business with the Regicide thing, Clara had told him quite a lot. For example, that Lenalee's innocence is a Great Hawk named _Felix_ – provided his (yes, _his_ ) preference to fly. Allen was, to his surprise, a complete unknown to her. Cross's _Judgement_ was, as the name suggested, a judge who was killed for ruling an innocent man (who crossed with the wrong blokes) not guilty and was murdered.

Sokalo's _Madness_ was an executioner who died protecting a beggar from a group of guardsmen out for _exterminating rodents_ , and she also suggested not-too-subtly that Lau Jimin – the monkey – changed his form every time he changed his master, and that his true form had only been revealed to only selected few. And there's also "The Cube", a _sentient_ Innocence that is with Hevlaska, was once an observer of war who was executed for standing idly by while lives were lost.

Ironic. The Cube was just like the Bookmen.

She said she doesn't remember all, but that's already quite a number she had told him. She said she never read any records regarding Mugen – a soulless Innocence – before (nor does her mother), and also explicitly stated that Seth was not _really_ an Innocence, but a beast bounded to it by not magic, but oath. And that Allen's Innocence gave hers a strange vibe.

What kind of _vibe_ it was, she couldn't really say.

Didn't help much, really.

Seth, huh…

"Isn't that the name of an Egyptian God, though?"

He had said it aloud, and many present (Cross and Komui who skipped work _again_ , included) gave him a curious glares. He blushed and chuckled nervously before ducking down and avoiding a swipe before hauling his hammer over his head and caught Dahlia by the tail.

"Gotcha!"

"Not so fast, Lavi!" She said, amused, and thrown the hammer off using the incredible strength of her hind legs. Strangely enough, he had also gained the ability (mostly through _image training_ ) to instantly shape-shift his weapon into whatever size he desire. He immediately turned Iron… – _Bran_ , he reminded himself sternly – his Innocence into a pen-like version, and swung it again and it turned as big as a barn when it reached her.

She smiled, and with ease, flipped him upside down with wind.

Fucking wind!

Allen was a lifesaver, as he used Crown Clown to pull him out of the path of flames and into the air. He grinned and signaled Krory with a wink. He took that hint and jumped up to him, recreating the moment on the ship to japan – with his hand as a base, and his hammer making the seal.

" _Earthen Seal: Tectonic Fracture!_ " He bellowed, at the mark appeared both on Krory's hand and the earth under the dragon. She grinned in approval before the earth under her feet cracked and caved in, swallowing her whole.

"A very good new move you have, Lavi." Cross, who had been sitting at the side and observing, commented as he blew the smoke out of his mouth. "I never knew you could do that."

"Trainin' paid off, y'know." He lied smoothly. According to the White Lady (aka Clara… He had _no fucking clue_ why she was called that, though) Iron Hamm – _Bran, dammit_ – is a scholar, and usually creativities and knowledges of Innocences and the world in Generals upped his power. A rather unique trait, something not often seen –

"Lavi, you _idiot!_ " Allen scolded. "Behind you!"

"Um?"

And he was swooped off his feet, his bum hitting the ground hard.

Incidentally, there was a stone where his balls landed.

" ** _# &$^%* $^#%#%#_**"

He heard Cross laughed from where he was, and Allen looking at him, his hand went down to his own crotch instinctively. Lavi didn't really feel pain, no… rather, he felt numb all over, with his breath stuck in his throat, and it was like his balls had been flattened and died where they were. And he couldn't move a muscle. Also, it might just be his imagination, but did Dahlia just wince?

"Ouch." The three of them said simultaneously; one amused, one pained, and one… torn between apologetic and amusement. Then it was Allen who walked up to him, crouching down and eyes darting between his face… and his now protected "Boxes of Hearts"

"You okay, Lavi?"

He couldn't speak, so he only mouthed _what do you think?_

"Well, you used to boast you have _balls of steels_." He said a bit too smugly, and Lavi wanted to bang Allen's head against his own, if not for his inability to _do a fucking thing_. Dammit. "Words for words, you know."

At last, he managed to speak _something_. Although his voice was squeaky, like a _fucking duck_. "Imma gill you por dis, Alyen. ( _Imma kill you for this, Allen)._ "

"You can't even talk in English anymore."

"Juddup, u eek jeltaman ( _Shut up, you fake gentleman_ )."

Allen shrugged. "Sorry, can't make out what you said. Honest."

It took him about ten minutes to regain composure (he stil felt funny down there, just so you know) and stand up (not so) straight again. He dusted himself off and leant _Bran_ – Hah! Finally got that right! – on his shoulder as he waited for Cross to pack his boozes (most of them empty) into the bag. He faintly wondered why no one helped.

Komui clapped his hands and smiled at them both. "Good work today, you two. And thank you, Dahlia, for helping us."

She smiled back and inclined her head slightly. "My pleasure."

"Well, let's go back, and you two get some rests. A new mission is rolling up our way." Komui declared, then he turned to Cross, whose face was as red as a ripe tomato. "General, you also have mission, leaving in an hour."

He raised his brows. "You expect me to fight _half-drunk?_ "

"Even half-drunk, you're still a General." Komui said with a grin. "So yes."

"Fuck ye… _fine_ , I'll do it." He finally relented and waved Komui off. Lavi's gaze landed on him, slightly amused.

Before he could make any comment, however, a golem sounded from his coat and everyone stopped in their tracks. It's the _Templars'_ golem that's flaring quite angrily. Allen was about to ask what it was when a voice came, slightly – or rather, unmistakably – laced with panic.

 _"_ _Lavi? You there?"_

"Clara?" He said, frowning and exchanging glances with Komui, who gave him a not-helpful-at-all shrug. "What's wrong? Why are you –"

" _You and Komui."_ She said, strained. The two mentioned looked at each other, their curiosities turned into a twisting feeling in the guts. She continued after a man in the background stopped speaking. _"Come to Vatican, quickly."_

"Um… care to tell me why?" Lavi murmured, scratching the back of his head. He had an ominous feeling about this. Clara _never_ panics, even when fighting a horde of creatures of the dark. The only reason she would is that something bad has happened, like…

 _"_ _Kanda…"_ She said, at last. _"Kanda is missing."_

* * *

 ** _Fragment Three: Bran, The First Scholar_**

Bran… that wasn't even his name.

He couldn't remember having a name.

Since time long past, he had always been an outcast, his sole purpose is to observe life from afar and detached himself from all things the society could offer. He drowned himself in the company of beasts and books, of nature and the dark. Every time someone saw him, they would scream and scramble. It was because of the hideous appearance he had – one eye red, the other blue, with stark white hair and scars from the tongue of flame all over his face.

He doesn't remember his past before those times, nor does he care, really. He found solace in the dark, in solitude, in absence of man. Mankind, he abhorred, and their masks of lies and deceits disgusted him. He saw no need to hide one's feelings. That's why he found himself in company of animals – large and small – that dwelled in the forest not too far from the village he had hailed from.

One day, there's this little girl who, despite shaken up by his harsh words, his friends who had stayed by him, and his appearance, plead to him to help her father from the plague that was wrecking havoc on the village at the time. At first he had refused, for that was not his business. But she persisted, staying where he considered home for three days straight with only a gulp of water a day to keep her from dying.

He caved in, eventually, and endured the rocks and insults thrown at him as he made his way through the streets. He found out that the girl's father was indeed the man who once threw the scalding water at him for – for what, he no longer remembered. But his emotions, long since dried up, never changed. It remained neutral. Since he never broke a promise he'd made, he used his knowledges of herbs and medicine he read from the discarded books to rid him of his pain and, eventually, the disease.

And then he got to see another side of man.

After they got to know him better (during the years he spent alone in the woods, and probably even before that, none had even come to speak or look at him), they opened up even so little. The girl's father told him he threw scalding water at Bran because he had heard that his parents called him the Offspring of Dark, for he was born under the eclipse.

Oh, the superstition without base that rooted into the hearts of man. They drove humans to do unimaginable things, to commit grave crimes. After he had cleared that up by explaining "Supernatural" phenomenon to them, some of them let up, while the others sill called him bad omen.

But no one can argue with his medical knowledge. So they all hailed him as the First Scholar – hence his moniker – and built him a home. A place to stay.

All is well until a group of villagers came in at night and cut his throat.

They were afraid of his inhuman abilities to heal (it's just common knowledge man who was with the wild as long as he was would've gained) and accused him of _necromancy_ , of all things. Nonsense.

Seven thousand years had passed, and everything remained the same.

The only reason he became an Innocence, placed inside artificial body, was only because he had an innate thirst for knowledge. He believed knowledge and logic is everything. If he gained it all, he might just find out why humans existed in the first place (well, God said he didn't _rightly_ create man).

Over the years, however, he came to realize that it was he who was unfortunate enough to not have seen the true nature of man – the shades of grey that made up their very existences.

Some of them were kind, kind to his accommodator enough that even Bran was surprised. There is no need for payment, they have said. But the others were outright cruel and anything but being "Human".

Maybe that's why he had come to be content with staying with humans over the years that he changed names, appearances, places over these last seven thousand years.

And then came Lavi.

He was just like Bran, a fool who thought of only to observe, to not get involve in the war, who saw others as mere ink on the rotten papers.

But now… now that has changed. "Lavi" is no longer just a name.

"Lavi" is a person.

And he looked forward for more.

* * *

 ** _Yes... I just did that. Poor Kanda. Gotta blame his character that got me to adore him so much that I want nothing more than to tear him to pieces, physically and mentally. Wahahahahhahahahahahhaa_**

 ** _Read and Review, Yo! And see you next time :D_**


	22. Chapter 22

**_So, I've got some free time, so I'll just drop this by, you know... and be on my way_**

 ** _So, first of, pay close attention to the "Four Horsemen". They're pivotal to the next arc. Especially the Pale Rider - you'll know him by the end of this chapter. ;p and about our beloved Kanda... well, I can't go and tell you what happened now, can I? I'll ruin the fun if I do :D_**

 ** _He'll not be seen or heard from for quite some time, so please bear with me. It's for plot purpose, you know. Not like I want to that badly, just... plots. THE PLOTS._**

 ** _Anyways, please Read and Review, as per usual_**

 ** _BEWARE; Maybe typo ahead. Not enough time yo_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Twenty Two: Accelerate_**

"What the hell happened here?"

Richard whispered with his eyes wide in shock as he scanned the area. He had come here because the team he sent to keep an eye on Kanda was wiped out in a matter of seconds, and so a dove was sent to take a look. He had heard the description of the scene, but… not, not _this_.

What was once the Earl's mansion was left in ruins, the earth scorched into black ashes. There were some pockets of fire remaining, and slowly dying. He spotted a body of the demonic sorcerer Tusk, lying burnt with a part of his throat ripped off. Even from afar, he could tell that the lack of blood was not common; demons usually have blood that's fire proof, unless said flame has the temperature of at least the surface of the sun. This… this wasn't what he would consider "normal" by any circumstances.

Lavi was done with being shocked earlier than he was and went to inspect the body of dead Templars hiding by what was once a pillar, accompanied by Isaac. Clara was still shaking, and she refused to step a foot in there until someone told her what's going on. Understandable, really, for he to wish someone would give him a proper answer to what the flying fuck transpired here. But he _is_ the leader. He _must_ not lose composure.

Komui was rather calm despite his apparent frustration and – was that fear? – That took over all of his face. He is a good leader, just as Kanda had vouched for. The man was quick to snap his men – the Ravens, he meant – out of their dazes and told them what he might've ordered them to do before going to observe, albeit from afar, Lavi's analysis of the corpses they found.

After ordering his men to secure the area in two miles radius, he went over to where Lavi was and observed the body with the younger man. Two scouts – one of the best at that – were positively _roasted_ to death. Their skins are charred black; even their teeth were falling out. Their swords and shields did not seem to be able to hold a candle against whatever shit that killed them. It was a complete massacre, in no more than a moment.

"To think there's something powerful enough to _melt_ Templars' ironworks." Lavi mused quietly, tapping at the meltdown shield with the tip of his tiny hammer. He rubbed at his chin as he continued to analyze. "The blast – or whatever that was – killed them instantly. No struggle, just… _vaporized_. They didn't even have the chance to raise the shield."

"So it's something unexpected." Clara concluded. "Either a bomb – magical or mechanical is fine – with enough energy to melt everything."

"Which do you recon it to be?" Richard asked, bowing slightly to the charred corpses of his scouts in the last show of respect. He went over to Tusk, whose right half literally _vaporized_ into thin air, and his left almost unharmed. "So this demon can withstand the blast some."

"I would think it's magical. I still sense some sorcery here. And, about that demon; unfortunately, he died before the explosion." Clara said. "His larynx is missing – I'm guessing this is Kanda's handiwork."

Komui flinched slightly. Right, he wasn't used to the Inner Sanctum's work, yet, unlike Lavi. He reminded himself that Komui will be made known of his duty as the Grandmaster – and their works in general – later.

"Hmm. Savage, like he always is." Richard murmured. "The question is, where did he go? And his dove, too."

"Dove?" Komui questioned.

"Like magical communication golems," Lavi explained, still tinkering with the burnt body. "Um, they said only "True Accommodators" can command them, and one person has one personal dove. I will explain the True Accommodator bit later."

"You said the other doves can't connect to his, right?" Clara said, and Richard clarified by nodding and bringing out the dove. His white avian looked around before flapping his wings almost rabidly. "What's that?"

"Darkness." Richard frowned. "That's the only thing he's telling me."

"Hmm… for a dove's connection to be severed so completely…" She began.

"Either interception magic is in used," Lavi continued for her, walking to where they were and brushed at the scorched earth with smoke still lingering about in the air. "Or the master of the dove is already dead."

"You mean Kanda-kun is…" Komui began, and then trailed off. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hand harder than he already was.

"It can also mean he had defected." She murmured, frowning. Komui and Lavi sent her strange glares – disbelief, disapprovals – but none said anything. She then shook her head and grumbled. "No, that's not possible. Seth wouldn't have allowed that."

"Mhm." Lavi agreed softly, his single eye looking with unreadable expression reflecting in it. His eye then fixated itself on the spot where the explosion must have had occurred. Richard crossed his arms and waited patiently for the new Historian's input. Only a few days in, and he's already a valuable asset. What a man. "There might be something else, but for now, we can only assume that Yuu is missing in action."

"I'd label him as KIA." Richard concluded. His heart ached. He looked at Kanda like a suborn son-of-a-gun, but a sun regardless. Losing him is equal to losing a dear child and the best strategist they have. "Dammit, Kanda, why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"MIA, please." Lavi said. "I don't believe he's dead yet."

"Why?"

"Intuition," He replied simply, earning him a glare from Richard and a slightly confused raised-brow from Clara. "Hey, hey, don't look at me like that. The Bookmen's greatest assets have always been intuitions that lead them to make hypothesis based on evidence. Which proved almost always true!"

"Do you have _said evidence_ , then?" He had asked skeptically.

"Well, firstly, I've heard that Yuu can use his Innocence to enhance his skin's hardness and regenerations, right?" He began, scratching the back of his neck nervously as he was being glared down into the earth. "He also had survived some explosions before, you told me yourself. The lack of body – and his sword, too, since it's better than Templars' normal steels – suggested that he might have made a run for it. Or captured. Or he can be dead, as you said."

"Mhm… true enough." Richard gave in with a sigh. "From here on out, we are going to label Kanda Yuu's status as MIA. But with the lack of further evidence and no dove's connections, we will only dispatch a small team of able-body to investigate while the majority of the Templars remained in their assigned positions. I'm sorry, you two, but we can't let a man's missing – or death – stop us from continuing this war."

"I understand." Komui and Lavi echoed simultaneously. Lavi took a long look at Richard, then at Komui – whose eyes reflected the same emotions as Lavi's – before continuing. "Dammit, Yuu, what the fuck do you think you are doin'?"

"We'll have…" Clara began, cutting herself off to recompose before continuing with a less shaky voice. Richard sympathized with her; after all, that man is her direct superior and her mentor. "We'll have to notify the Order. Maybe it's time the Templars made themselves known."

"Matters about the Earl's defection from the Old God come first." Richard stated simply. Clara seemed to know of this, but Lavi and Komui looked at him with such dumbfounded expressions he would've laughed (if the atmosphere wasn't so severe). "I've told you about the Earl, right…?"

"Yes. What's this "defection" you're talking about?" Lavi said.

"I do not know anything about that." Komui frowned.

"Long story short; seems like Kanda managed to convince the Earl they were but puppets and sent four Noahs to me. Their bonds to the Old God are being severed as we speak. It'll take time, but I think it's worthwhile."

"Will they betray us?"

"I think not."

A pause and Komui continued. "Will the Order be able to accept this?"

Richard sighed and shook his head. "That, I do not know. We have to convince them somehow. If we're going to do it, we'll have to induct all of them into the Templar Order, first and foremost. Hm, I think it's high time we do that."

"I agree." Lavi said almost immediately. "Keeping them in the dark will only cause more problems. If Yuu hadn't gone and get himself deep in shit, keeping them away is the best bet. Now that's changed."

"You're right." Clara agreed. "Well, I'll take this thing to do the autopsy and researches. You guys take care of our fellow Templars and give them a proper burial."

Komui was oddly silence. Maybe he's slowly taking in all these information they were dumping down onto his head?

"You're not the boss here, you know." The Grandmaster mused quietly.

"I know. Still. Old habits die hard."

"Like mother, like daughter."

"Ha. Ha." She laughed humorlessly before clapping twice to urge the two combo of a red-head and a still confused Supervisor to move. "Now move! We've got to clear this place up before men of the Order came! Go! Shoo!"

* * *

Once the Earl's and his family were cleared of all the shackles of dark (took almost _a month_ , too, at that, and he will _not_ elaborate on the details) that bound them to the Old God, another problem became prominent;

 _How the fuck are we going to convince the Black Order?_

They've been at war with the Earl for a century or more, and that kind of deep-seated hatred isn't going to go anywhere anytime soon. And all of them understood this perfectly. Even a logical, mostly neutral one like Komui took them a _whole damn week_ to be convinced that the Earl is no longer the threat, but how will the others in the Order fare? 100 to 1 bet they'll outright try to rip the Earl and his family apart, limb from limb.

Because, hell, that's what Lavi would do if he hadn't been in the Templars.

Even the Earl himself said that he should never be forgiven for what he had done, mind-controlled or no. It wasn't even _exactly_ a mind control, just one hell of a plan to fool him into thinking he is God's enemy and used some kind of post-traumatic dementia with hypnotic therapy to get his mind to work a bit… differently than it was before. He's still jittery, even now.

And one damn month, nothing about Kanda came up. No dove's contacts, no sightings, not even the slightest _rumors_. He was just… gone, disappeared into thin air. And with that, the Templars' most powerful knight – Lavi was very _not_ surprised by this, seeing how Kanda seemed almost relax at the mention of a war raging around him, with few exceptions – was assumed _dead_.

The loss of one of the strongest Templar hurted their war efforts significantly and hell, the moment those demons knew, they were practically upped their efforts three times. So even Kanda's influence (and Richard's, too) kept them in the dark. Now that one of the dams is gone, the flood is coming at high-as-fuck velocity, with only few ways to stop it from swallowing them whole.

Well... Back to the matter at hand, first.

"Still figuring out how to talk to the Order about… all this, are we?"

Clara asked when she entered his office (he _finally_ had one, although it's very small, Hooray!) with two cups of tea in her hands. She offered one to Lavi, which he graciously accepted and took a sip – the not too hot liquid was rather refreshing, he noted – before he continued looking at all the possibilities he had written down. Acceptance being one of the most ridiculous to achieve, while _outright rejection, rebellion_ and _hang them all_ being… let's say, the _more obvious choices_.

The lady sat down across from him, a stack of spell tomes in hands, as she thought some spell that calm down the nerves would help here. It… just might work, hadn't it been for the fact that he had no idea what would happen once the spell ran its course. His one eye flickered between her and the book. "You still on about using sorcery?"

"I'm trying to find the one that doesn't end abruptly. If the spell wanes slowly and steadily, their moods after the activation period _will_ not swing too much, and a well-controlled speech and a bit of convincing will do the work." She replied. Then she frowned. "Assuming that there _is_ one, and that you're as convincing as you say, Lavi,"

"I hope I am." He said truthfully. He didn't know if he's that convincing or not – Komui might be a better choice. Still, he needed to work around the deep seated hatred and psychological defenses before he had the chance to use her spell effectively. But really, humans are complicated creatures who don't always act on logic, and usually let emotions – good or bad – guide their ways, which was at times a good thing. But this time it's a bad fucking disadvantage.

And he has to work that out, fast.

"If Kanda was here," She began, flipping past yet another page. "He would have remarked that _you are all bark and no bite_ , and I'll retort back that his _convincing speech_ is as good as a fucking duck stuck in the mud."

"…what the fuck was that insult, _duck stuck in the mud?_ "

"I dunno. Just happened. Kanda liked it, so he kept calling me Muddy Duck; well, until Three or so months ago where he never called me that again."

"And what did he call you instead?"

"Madwoman."

"Sounds like him." Lavi nodded thoughtfully and, after the last straw of his concentration fell into the fire, he threw all the shits on his table into the air and threw his body back so far the chair flipped. " _Ow!_ "

"Hey, hey, why are you flipping all of a sudden, Lavi?" She asked, half amused at his sudden movement. Clara offered him a hand, which he graciously and instantaneously accepted, another hand rubbing at his occiput to soothe the pain. "Are you too stressed or something?"

"Yeah, I think." He said. "Only a total of 30 minutes of sleep in the past two days –" at this, he yawned, mouth opened wide and invited flies to fly in "– and I'm thinking too much about, you know, _everything_."

"Then sleep."

"I'm in between episodes of insomnia right now," He replied, shaking his head.

"So?"

"So I _can't_ sleep. Not that I don't want to."

"Then there maybe something that'd interest you."

She said as she handed over to him a very thick folder, labeled only as "The Blinded Watcher", with red stamped _Top Secret_ at the bottom right. He looked up at the woman cautiously before opening it. Even before reading he asked quietly, "Why is this person called Blinded _Watcher_?"

"Because he is blinded, obviously," She said with a shrug. "And because he oversees all the raids that targeted our dear supporters – nobles and hierarchs, mostly. He had been operating for as long as I can remember, maybe more than that. Read it, and tell me what you think."

"Ooooookay," He dragged his words as he put the folder on his desk and started scanning the content with his emerald green eye.

 _The Blinded Watcher, also known as the Owl, is an Old God's operative who carries out his works around the "Ring Of Fire" – or the countries at the edges of the Pacific Ocean._

 _Duties: Unknown, possibly reconnaissance and assassinations_

 _Duration of activity: At least ten years_

 _Estimate Ranking: Estimated to be one of the Old God's Four Horsemen_

Lavi paused at this. The Four Horsemen, as in the _Four Horsemen of Apocalypse_ in the bible? He was about to ask when Clara replied; "Four Horsemen are four most trusted humanoid demons – one the Old God sent to carry out worldly matter, like politics – and each of them represent a horseman. The Owl is said to be the Pale Rider."

"Pale Rider?"

"Yes. The Horseman of Death, and possibly the strongest one."

"Then if we managed to kill him, does that mean we're one step from the Old God?" Lavi asked, curious. But he noticed that she said not the strongest demons, but "humanoid demons". So he can kind of guess…

"No. There are demons too powerful and too corrupted for human bodies to harbor without _side effects_ – filled with so many hatred and anger as they are. If we take out the Horsemen, all we're doing is slowing him down." And with that, his theory was once again proved true. He wished she didn't, though – because the war is already fucked-up as it is. And he had to wonder why the Old God didn't end it right away. Unlike the Earl, this one seemed to mean business.

Maybe there's something that tied his hands, like a seal that prevents his army of demons to trample the world to dust.

He shook his head and continued reading;

 _Power: Equal or Greater than Rank SS._

"Power rating…?" He asked absently. This is the first time he'd seen it.

"It's rated from D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS and X."

"What does X mean? God-like?" He joked. And he instantly regretted it.

"Yes. That's what X supposed to mean. Approximately. SS is about my level, SSS is equal to Kanda before he got fucked up. X is more like Master Richard when he's pissed. If someone got a rating X, it's advised that only the Inner Sanctum be assembled in a team to attempt an extermination."

He let the word _attempt_ slipped by and continued.

 _Weapons and Ability: Unknown, use decoys and dark magic most of the time. Prefer hand-to-hand combat. If required, he uses a cane sword and a magically-enhanced Flintlock pistol._

 _Age: Unknown, estimated to be more than 40-50_

 _Traits: Cover his lower face with black cloth, and both eyes with white, blood-soaked bandages. Appeared to be blinded. Exceptional tracker, hard to surprise attack due to extensively evolved auditory and olfactory senses._

"Appeared to be blinded does _not_ equal being blinded, you know." He said, mostly to himself. He cut Clara off by continuing, "But that's to be expected; even I will have to assume he has visual deficit if he wear cloths over his eyes all the time."

"He covered himself up pretty nicely, I assure you." She said with a dead-beat sigh, covering her head with an open book. "I've never had a run-in with him, but Kanda and David did once. Fought into a stalemate – Kanda even said that the guy wasn't serious – and then ran off."

"So he doesn't prioritize killing Templars, huh."

"Nope. He kills _everything BUT_ Templars."

"…fuck?"

"Yes. Fuck."

"So," Lavi began again, frowning as he glared holes into the folder of the Blinded Watcher. "…Why are you giving me this?"

"Food for thoughts, maybe you can find connections between him and the other Horsemen – and maybe you can deduce his identity. We have one whose "Human Face" is already known; Red Rider, the Horseman of War."

"Geez, what about the whole "Tell the Black Order" thing?"

"The Inner Sanctum – and Komui – is discussing it. Don't worry, I'll tell them what you write down, too. You go get a nap, Lavi. You look like you can use – _need_ – one." She chided as she forcefully dragged Lavi out of the chair by the ear and half-haul him out the door before following suit. He was dead-tired at this point, so he gave no argument as she led him to his room.

"Right, right," He waved at her as he walked with one leg dragging the other, his eye half-shut and his hair a mess.

Why does he get the vibe that this Owl is a very bad omen?

 _In many countries, owls are considered bringers of bad omen, after all._

Maybe he was just overthinking things.

Or maybe his hunches were right.

* * *

Another week went by without much productivity.

The Black Order still trained with Dahlia, as per usual. And they improved, as per fucking usual. Lavi and a now enlightened Komui (who spent the first three days gawking at the truth behind the war _and_ meeting face-to-face with the Earl, mind you) hadn't figured yet a way to _not_ throw the Order into chaos with… well, _everything_. Let's take Chaozii, for example; that guy _will_ flip at the very _thoughts_ of the Earl being, well, _innocent._ Not to say about the rest, your typical "emotion-guided populace" and shit.

Yeah. Even a silver-tongued like Lavi couldn't figure how to deliver the news.

Because fuck you, the Old God's puppet-ting skills fucked everything up.

They did break the news of Kanda's disappearance, and the Order took it… well, not so well. Komui only told them that he fought with an Exceed and disappeared without a trace. Lenalee cried right there, Marie was depressed – well, depressed- _er_ – and even Allen was quieter than normal. Kanda had told him something about Neah, and when he looked at those silver eyes, he saw a glint of gold… of _panic_ gold.

And Clara said that "This should be easy,"

"Easy my ass." Lavi breathed quietly.

Komui shifted at that, but said nothing as he concentrated whatever parts of his brain that wasn't occupied by the whole ordeal happening in the Templar Brotherhood on the meeting. He was here because he is now a Bookman – he cursed his grandfather for being dead – and he could use that as his excuse for gathering Intel on the inside.

Speaking of Bookman – as much as he hated to admit it, he was killed by no other than "Apocryphos", because he attempted to strike a deal with a certain Noah ( _Sheryl Camelot,_ that asshole) for them to stay out of this war because he thought the Order is on a losing spree. It took him time to finally accept that his grandfather's death was inevitable. And when he did, he also found out that gramps' Innocence, _Heaven Compass_ , is a _literal compass_.

Like, a compass that can point you to other Innocences.

It wasn't an Innocence made from soul, Clara had said, but rather an imitation of one, using soul of a _pigeon_ , thus giving it the ability to "Home on to things with similar compositions". But with Kanda's Innocence being an absolute unknown, even to the eons-old Templars, finding him with that is _just_ not going to happen.

Yeah, one Impasse after another.

"Lavi," Komui called and jerked him back from his train of thoughts. He looked up to see that they're shown the "prisoner" Lvellie had brought back from – where was it, Pennsylvania? – Whatever hellhole it was and locked the prisoner up under the Order.

"What?"

"Isn't that… a Saracen?"

He then noticed the Templar Ring on that man's ring finger. The ring's color, red-sand like, indicated that he is a part of the Saracen – the supposed arch nemesis of the Templars. But… how did Lvellie caught that man?

"As I've said before, this man was found killing several of our own at our camp in Pennsylvania. Our information gatherers are gone, a platoon of CROWs just… wiped out. He will answer for his crime," The man paused at this, eyeing Lavi and Komui intensely. "We will have to find out later who he works for – because he, too, opposed the Earl."

"Are you suggesting a third party at play, Lvellie?" Cross asked. Lavi couldn't see the expression on his face because of that mask, but he sure as hell can see the way Cross' mouth twitched in annoyance.

"Wasn't he with _the Fourteenth,_ General?"

Strangely enough, Lvellie seemed surprise by Cross' innocence.

"Komui," Lavi called, stepping slightly so he mouth couldn't be seen by the nosy inspector. Once the Supervisor hummed in acknowledgement, the red-haired continued. "We have to inform the Templars about this, and we have to get him out before he dies at Lvellie's hands."

"But how did a _Saracen_ , of all people, get caught? Aren't they experts in hit-and-run, see-but-not-seen type?" He hushed back, hyperaware of the prying eyes of Lvellie. Cross seemed to catch on to some of their conversations, but he only winked (if that mouth twitch and that head motion can be called that, Lavi noted duly) and helped concealing them a bit by moving in the way.

"Maybe he's rooting out the demons in the Order's ranks and got injured – we won't know until we ask him. Or Sala'Adin. Or Richard."

"Mhm… let's hear what Lvellie's planning for now."

"We will be interrogating him starting in three days. We will update you later about what we… found." Lvellie said, as if on cue. Lavi raised an eyebrow.

"Well, ain't that quick."

"I'll inform the Inner Sanctum about this." Komui whispered, adjusting his glasses slightly as he watched Lvellie leaving the room. Cross seemed like he wanted to ask something, but Komui ignored that. "You just… well, if there are no better things, I suggested you inform _everything we know_ to Allen-kun first. You know. Neah Walker and all that."

"Alright, I'll do the honors." Lavi said with a shrug. "This is going to be _fun_."

"Such sarcasm," Komui noted with a light laughter. "Be seeing you, Lavi."

"Uh-huh."

Alright, time to make a friend out of Allen _and_ the Fourteenth.

* * *

"Aren't you a bit behind schedule here, Death?"

A man dressed in crimson trench coat asked as he leant against the doorway, his unnatural red eyes staring into the back of the other's head. Death, as he was called by his "colleague", didn't reply. His hands, with black gloved hiding his skin from view, only waved the other off and continued to tinker at the silver, bloodstained flintlock pistol. He only hummed softly when the man in red grunt.

"You know, you being _muted_ really suck. Can you even write?" The man in red said in annoyance. Death stopped to ponder the fact for a second before putting the gun down and fetch a board and a pen out from under his desk. He wrote something down with a rather neat handwriting, and showed the man in red its content.

 _I know that. You can't rush me with this kind of thing, War._ He paused to let the man in red – War – grasped the content before erasing the words, replacing them with new ones, then repeated the process. _Besides, I don't think His Majesty is going to be happy with you nosing around in my business._

"Yeah, right, old man, thank you for the obvious." War said and slapped at the nearest pillars. It burst into flames and turned to ash within a second. "This fucking workshop of yours creeps me out, Death."

Another writing. _Stop calling me that._

"Or what? Or you're going to kill me? Please, you –"

The man who dressed in gray trench coat, with the hood up, a black scarf covering his lower face and bloody bandages covering his eyes, turned his head slightly to "look" at the man in red, if you could call a blind man _looking_ at something. War was about to continue when a finger pressed on his throat, and the "Death" before him dispersed into mists.

"…okay… I admit defeat."

Death's finger lingered a moment longer before he dissipated and returned to his table within a second. He wrote something down again, and pointed it at War's face. _Don't call me Death. It is annoying._

"Then what should I call you?"

 _Owl is fine. I don't have a human name. Not anymore._

"You talk like an emotional wench, old man," War commented, rubbing at the sore stop in his neck and groaned. To be fair, Death has always scared him, but this one is different… there's more weight to his threat than before. He did not want to find out. "What about the prisoner?"

 _I just disposed of him._ Was the answer. Upon not-too-good a reception, Owl wrote more down the board and showed it to him. _He died a bit later after the second phase. Is a shame, too. I heard he was a good subject._

"Or your method is just too rough."

Death faked a shoulder movement of laughter at this.

"Haha, very funny. But I'm surprised you can write that fast and that accurate while being blind, you know."

 _I wasn't born blind_.

"Well, that do explain _something_ ," War said with a laughter. "Anyways, D – ahem, _Owl_ , do you know why we have to kill our own informant?"

The Owl didn't do anything, but instead reach for the files he had accumulated during the past week at War while he resumed the work on his flintlock pistol – there seemed to be a _blood clot_ blocking the barrel, and he so had to take it out or the gun's going to blow up in his face. He grunted again, wrote things down, and pointed at War before the other could read the content of the files,

 _Let's just say he had outlived his purpose. And this goddamn gun of mine is cock-blocked by someone's blood._

"Cockblock, huh…" War mused and took a look. "Ah, so the guy outlived his usefulness by stopping reporting in and attempting to extract payment? What a fool. As if his salary isn't enough,"

Wrote something down, a bit angrier this time; _and fools are not tolerated._

"Yes, and fools are not tolerated." War said. "Oh, and what's this, another bounty – so we are starting to kill some of those Templars now, are we?"

The Owl nodded and wrote something _in the air_ , with his fingers. The fire that remains read out as this; _it's time we get moving with the war. His majesty said we need to hurry up and wrap things around. After that Kanda boy, he felt like he didn't want to play around too much._

"Ah, I see now. I heard the branding was a success though, wasn't it?"

 _It is. He now belongs to His Majesty._

"That's good to hear. So, well, I have a war to start. I'll be seeing you later."

The Owl only hummed back as War, the man-in-red, burst into flames and disappeared along with the smoke. His unseen eyes lingered at the spot for a moment before he reached for the black cane with silver, sharp hook head and tapped at it experimentally. The flintlock was then placed at the holster behind his belt, and he took out the photo of his next target;

 _Edward, the Royal Executioner, member of the Templars' Inner Sanctum._

It is time for the gear to start moving.

* * *

 ** _Jesus fuck that was a lot of skips_**

 _ **Sooooo how do you like that? Edward now has his head marked.**_

 _ **Really, most OCs are here to be eliminated *laughs*. No, not really, but a lot of them do. Look at Ammon, for instance. Name revealed and dead in one scene, hahaha**_

 _ **Wellllll, now I've got to go on the Elective Studies; going to class when it's summer time for extra knowledges. So, yeah... two to three weeks an update. Minus or plus a few days :D**_

 _ **Thank you for your attention, and see you again soon!**_


	23. Chapter 23

**_Hello, folks! Sorry for the much delay, but I got so many late-night assignments I swear I can just close my eyes and wake up three days later, lol. Besides, something struck me and compelled me to write an OC story XD So, again, terribly sorry!_**

 ** _Thanks to KyraEnsui, Lena-luvs-cats and fenzy4eva for thoust kind-hearted review!_**

 ** _This chapter is a prologue to a big change, so... politics ahead, and typos. You have been warned._**

 ** _PS. This chaps (and probably the next few) are the hardest to write. I. Hate. Politics._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Twenty Three: Premature start_**

"Um… could you repeat that? One more time?"

Allen muttered quietly, his voice full of doubts and disbeliefs as Lavi told him about the Templars. And Lavi knew for a fact that _Neah is there_ , and cooperating with Allen nicely. The red head blinked and twisted his mouth into something torn between _well-I-know-this-is-going-to-happen_ and _fuck-it-I'm-out_. "Well… I know you heard me, Allen-chan."

"Drop the suffix and be serious, Lavi. I mean, there's _more_ to the _war?_ And the Earl is out _fucking allies_?" His voice rose a note with every word, and it went up two octaves by the last word. Lavi couldn't blame him, really. This is fucking nuts, if he was to say so himself. But right now, they need _everyone_ they can get, _especially_ the exorcists. Damn the Heart for disappearing. "You _expect ME_ to just go "Oh, the Earl repents now and want a hug? Sure?" after all the shits he had pulled? No _thank you_ , you _bloody idiot_."

"Hey, hey, hey, listen, Allen. I know it sucks, it's hard to believe and it fucks with your head. But let's be honest, can you blame someone for getting his mind grinded into eggnogs and do horrible deeds? He doesn't even have a will of his own then. His judgements are clouded, dude."

"Oh, yeah, sure, I can forgive him." Allen said, and Lavi almost sighed in relief when Allen closed the distance between them in two strides and held him up in the air by the collar. "I'll forgive him as soon as he gave everyone back, good and proper, souls free and all. And oh, don't forget the Akumas. Especially _Mana_ , you mud-born, shit-for-brains!"

"Neah? Can you help me for a bit here?" He asked the air, mostly. Allen froze at the mention of the name, and seemed surprise when his eyes turned gold. It's just Lavi's luck that the grip on his collar tightened. "Oh, hello, Campbell-san. I'm Lavi, a –"

"You're fucking crazy, are you know that?" Allen – ahem, _Neah_ – said through gritted teeth, still not letting him down. Oh god, this is going to suck very badly. "And how in seven hells did you _convince_ the Earl we're not enemies?"

"If you'd just –" It's like he's being hung. Talking was as hard as breathing.

"What?"

"Can't breathe. Need talk."

He was dropped onto the ground, unceremoniously. He coughed and touched his neck, gasping for air. Neah sat down on his haunches, one hand boredly supporting his face while the other dangled between his knees. "Alright, I'm calm, I'm calm… now start talkin' or I'll rip your asshole a new one."

"Just gimme time! Jesus, you old folks," He muttered, the last few words to himself as he evened out his breathing. "Long story short, we found out you two split because the Old God wants more puppets to pull. Turns out you aren't affected by the Taint as the other one did, so the Old One ordered the Earl to try kill you. You know how in continues from that."

"And how am I to believe a word you say?"

"Do you believe in _us_ , then?"

The use of plural took him by surprise, but what caught his attention more was the silver ring with the Templar's insignia. His golden eyes flickered slightly as he seemed to direct his thoughts _inside_. Lavi waited patiently and, when those eyes opened again, it was silver-gray.

"So, Neah gave me a very quick summary of things." Allen said, absently pulling at the hem of his shirts. "I can't believe _this_ is a thing. Kanda, a _Templar_ – and a _commanding officer_ , at that – then there's you and Komui-san? Really, now, what the hell are you scheming?"

"Yuu invites me in, so you'll have to ask him about the whole scheming thing."

"If he's even alive after that _save-the-Earl_ stunt he'd pulled. I hope he did." The young man said it, stopped to ponder for a second, and waved dismissively at the ground. "I will have to pray to god for that… maybe after a drink."

"You _do_ drink? Really?" Lavi asked as he was helped to his feet by the now calmer, more rational (and more prone to self-harm actions like downing a barrel of alcohol) Allen Walker. He had to envy his ability to relay information with Neah _that_ face. Though he had heard the Great Void – the world inside Allen's mind – had a time of its own.

Must be convenient.

"Sometimes. Maybe. No?"

"Why the hell am I feeling like you aren't even sure yourself?" Lavi said, half-joking. But he understood; that was a lot of shits to take in, and if he hadn't been devouring the whole thing down for weeks straight, he wouldn't have understood and would crotch-shot himself, too.

And, just his mouth, Allen crotch-shot him.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…"

"That is for lying to _us_ , idiot Lavi." Allen said firmly as he let Lavi writhed on the floor, a bright smile plastered on his face. "And where the hell is Tim?"

"Why why why _why my balls?_ " Lavi whined. He probably is infertile, now. His hopes and dreams of having babies are now gone for good. He wanted to cry and bang is head in a pile of haystack until he died. Of drowning.

"Good job on breaking the news, Lavi."

The newcomer put Allen on full alert while Lavi, just made infertile mere seconds ago, groaned as he rolled on the ground. The white-haired was about to activate his Innocence when Lavi chipped in, his voice as squeaky as it possibly could. Lavi noted mentally that he sounded like a weathered _trumpet_ , dammit. "You're… late… ow…"

"I see he's devastated your genitals." She remarked happily as she tapped at Allen's shoulder and smiled. The silver-gray eyes widen in recognition – he had seen her before. "Good job. I was etching on doing that myself. Wait."

To add insults to injury, she stepped (not) lightly onto the thinly-protected crotch. He wailed soundlessly.

"Um… I forgot your name, Ma'am." Allen said shamefully. Lavi only banged his head on the floor. They just _castrated_ him and now they were _ignoring him_ – FUCK YOU, he silently shouted. "Oh, shut up, Lavi. You brought this on your own ass. Live with it."

"Ignore him," Clara said, and mouthed _sorry for the balls_ at him. He huffed, but remained silence (mostly because talking hurts, _ouch_ ) as she re-introduced herself again. "The name's Clara. It's a pleasure to meet you. And oh wait, Lavi, did you tell him about, you know, _that man?_ "

Lavi was confused, at first, but he caught on to her awkwardness, and the way she gestured at Allen and then someone else inside her head. Oh. Right. But wait a minute… "Wasn't that supposed to be Neah's job? I mean, technically speaking, they're _one and the same_. That shouldn't be a problem…?"

"Jesus Christ," The woman sighed and laughed humorlessly at herself. She then looked at the white-haired, who had been starting at them in confusion during their short exchange. With a _you're-screwed_ look, she tapped at his shoulder and spoke, directing her words at the other one. "Good luck breaking _that_ news, Neah."

"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Allen frowned, and closed his eyes. Before he could do anything, however, a white wisp formed out of thin air – the worldly personification of Neah. Well, a _part_ of him. Allen would have been dancing and yelling in panic had it not been for Lavi, well, _knowing_. "Why are you out here? And what –"

" _Thank you_ , for mentioning that, _White One_." The wisp hissed. "Couldn't you just let him talk to Allen personally himself? Why should I –"

"Because that man's still _not_ ready, and you are glued to Allen," To emphasize her words, she made a hand motion of two palms stuck together. She then winked with no sympathy what-so-ever. "So I think he'll handle it better than, well, us telling him. Look how well he took the first news!"

She them pointed to Lavi. Yeah, great use of the _environment_ , Clara.

"Alright, _fine!_ " Neah, the wisp, yelled exasperatedly as he floated around Allen's head once before resting on top of the white head, blending perfectly into the snowy strands. Allen looked like he wanted to poke Neah off his head, Lavi noted. "And where the hell is Tim?"

"I have been asking that question myself," Allen stated. "I don't even realize he was gone until I nut-cracked Lavi."

"What the fuck with that term!?" Lavi cried. _Nut-crack_ , right. So accurate.

"Really, though, I think we need to stop picking on Lavi. Poor guy," The blonde said with little trace of regret on her feature as she offered him a hand. He took it hesitantly and got up, his legs still twisted in an attempt to soothe the pain. Why must he always be dealt with _this kind of abuse_? "Are you going to be okay? I mean both physically _and_ mentally,"

"Nope." He said without a delay. "Definitely _nope_."

"Well," She started awkwardly and tip-toed as a mean to reduce tension as Lavi, finally able to standing straight, sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "So, let's head back to the archive for now, and let mister Campbell here deal with his family problem."

"One moment, if you may." Neah stopped them, voice grim enough to make the seemingly carefree Clara frowned.

"What is it?"

"What happened to Kanda Yuu? He _is_ with you, isn't he?"

Allen refrained himself from asking, for now, and listened close as Lavi's face fell and Clara looked away. He only heard that Kanda disappeared during mission, but if what Neah said is true, then the matter might be grimmer than he had originally thought.

Lavi left, and Clara only dropped a few words before she followed;

"That, we do not know."

* * *

How has it come to this?

Edward, after executing the last of the enemies in India, was ambushed by _something_ faster than him, and strong enough that his left prosthetic arm was ripped off clean in one strike. He scanned the area, his hand gripping the grand lance tightly. With a bellow, he used it to stop the upcoming attack, only for him to be pinned to the ground.

And with a flick of the cane, his remaining arm was destroyed.

"Who the fuck are you!?" He howled.

The smoke that had attacked him took form, and he figure in pale coat and bandages over his eyes appeared before him. The black cane with silver head hung from his right arm, while his left held out the flintlock pistol at his face. His eyes widened and his breath hitched at the sight.

The man pulled down the scarf that covered his lower mouth to show the face with blackened burnt scar from the whole neck that crept up to left side of his mouth and upward into the bandages. The man then grinned, teeth shining under the moonlight. With voice hoarse from disuse and vocal cords injuries, he said, "Long time no see, Edward."

"You – the Pale Rider?" He said in realization and terror. The Pale Rider, the bringer of death himself – why was he targeted? How? "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's because we're enemies!" The man said with laughter as he shot both of Edward's knees and walked to his side. The bigger man had gnarled and trashed about in pain. Without his arms and legs, he now had no means of fighting _or_ escaping. The Pale Rider sat down on his hunches and rummaged through Edward's cloak, fishing out a cigar. "Hmm, Cuban, is it now? Very good, very good indeed."

Without care, the Pale Rider snapped his finger, engulfing the tip of the cigar in what Edward remembered from his experience to be called "The Profaned Flame", fire with colors like any other. Except that, if closely inspect, a tinge of dark would be found within it. It's the power exclusive to the Four Horsemen, for the True Demons would be using black-colored fire instead of some half-assed hell flame like this.

He stayed silence and looked at the remnants of his arms – the comm system built within must've already gone off and alerted the others. If they're quick enough, then there might be a chance for his survival. He looked at the man's lower face, marked with battle wounds and a devious grin that seemed to have permanently plastered itself on it. He couldn't quite guess –

"Do you know why you're being targeted, Lieutenant?" The Pale Rider asked quietly, puffing smoke up into the air. "You should've already known that."

He grimaced. "What the fuck are you talking about, you son of a bitch?" He really needed to watch his mouth, though. But luckily for him, the Pale Rider only chuckled as he took in a full inhalation of smoke and nicotine.

"Tsk, tsk, you really need to know your place," He began, his hand reached up to take of the covering off of his eyes.

Edward's face paled significantly, his breath hitched, and his heart stopped for a moment. That face, the face that _haunted_ him. His eyes widen as he talked nonsense into the air and high heavens above. His body trembled as all the pieces clicked into his mind, and all the things that had happened, all the shits that had gone wrong during this past month – it all made sense now.

He now knew why he was targeted, and he screamed.

* * *

Sibrand heard it, clear as day.

A scream of fear, of despair.

He was dispatched with Clara behind him when Edward's prosthesis were put out of commission, and they had (kind of) ordered Allen Walker to open an Ark gate to India. With Clara's _Flight_ , they managed to reach the area quickly. But when they landed, they were greeted by a man in pale clothing, is face covered in bloody bandages and black scarf, whose shadow casted upon the gasping and bleeding executioner.

And he saw much to his horror that Edward's throat – or half of it – was _missing_. And in the pale man's hand, his sleeve soaked wet with blood, was a lump of meat. The pale man only turned his head ever so slightly before using the cane in his hand to block Sibrand's greataxe.

"What the fuck have you done, you _bastard!?_ " He bellowed, adding more to the already ridiculous pressure into the axe. It didn't budge.

"What have we here? Another Templars, are we?" The pale one said, nothing but amusement under his voice. He deflected the axe easily and dropped what used to be Edward's vocal cords to draw out the holstered flintlock pistol and blind-fired at him. He ducked down and leapt back, with Edward in his hand.

Although ungracefully, he had to get Edward out of there quickly, and he gave Clara a hand signal to take care of him. She immediately did, and Sibrand activated his Innocence fully, cladding his body in elegant black-gold crusader armor bearing the crest of the Teutonic – black cross on white backgrounds. He looked at the pale one, and it hit him –

"You're… the Pale Rider?"

"I prefer you calling me the Owl, Teutonic Grandmaster." The enemy quickly replied as his body began dispersing into intangible mists. His voice was hoarse and familiar to his ears, but he couldn't quite put it. "I must say, I expect you to be here _sooner_. Look at what being late brought you."

And he wished he didn't.

When he turned to take a peak, Clara was shaking badly with her eyes wide and mouth slightly parted, her gaze fixating on the now stilled Edward, whose wound blackened like charcoal. It was the color of the Taint, no doubt. She looked at him with a broken expression and repeated, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over like a broken record.

And his anger flared up like never before. His grip on his axe tightened, and he swung at the intangible smoke only to receive a mocking laughter. Then the Pale Rider materialized from behind him, the pistol placed on the back of his head. He didn't wish to take a risk, even fully armored, so he opted for a dodge that later proved to be a correct solution;

The bullet that whizzed past his head went through three or four building before dispersing like comet. With the momentum he had left, he swung himself out of the way and gained a bit of a distance.

"Very good hunch you have, Teutonic," The Owl said thoughtfully, rubbing his fingers together and from it, a wisp of black substance floated up. "If you had taken that bullet, your head will probably explode into a thousand pieces."

"I didn't think a Pale Rider would be this dangerous." He said with a humorless grin under the helmet. He knew the Pale Rider had a very high rating, but with this he might be upped to SSS or X very easily. Just he and Clara – now shaken too – cannot possibly turn the table. Not without a price.

"And nor I a Teutonic to be this pitiful." He mocked, his head lifting up as if he could see past those thought-to-be blind eyes and bloody bandages. "Does submitting yourself to the service of the Templars soften you, dear Sibrand? Or are the Templars reduced to… no more than this?"

"Words weigh less than action, Owl." He gritted out. Not only does that not help, it will probably quicken his doom, too, if he wasn't careful. But he just couldn't help himself when the Order that he had been serving for centuries were ridiculed like this.

"Indeed." He said. The Owl was about to move in for a strike when he stopped mid-track as if reminded of something, and brought out from his pocket a silver, also blood-stained pocket watch, and looked at it (if you could call it that). He grumbled and snapped it shut. "It appears his Majesty wants my service, now. I shall be off then, and let us continue this at another time."

"Wait –!"

And with a puff, he was gone into the wind.

The truth hit him like a brick, and in that moment he knew that the war will never be won as long as they are weak.

If a Horseman can outwit and overpowered an Inner Sanctum like this, what will happen if all four of them joined forces?

* * *

"You told me you were muted."

War said as soon as the Owl stepped into the dark, circular room. The other two, one in white tattered cloth and another with black suit and a top hat, watched them with curious eyes. Owl only waved his hand and went to sit in one of the unoccupied corner and replied, "I just regained my voice a while ago. See, my vocal cords were shredded, and it took nearly two weeks for it to heal. No hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings," War replied with a grin as he sat in his own corner, his hand fidgeting at the uppermost button of his overcoat. "I praise you, Owl, for killing Edward in one fell swoop. I will never be able to do that on my own."

"You're underestimating yourself." The Pale Rider replied. "Although you, the embodiment of disaster, might do it a bit too flashy for my taste."

"Mhm, burn 'im in flames and let 'im writhe and die like a bitch."

"Watch your tongue, War." The black one with a top hat said sharply, his cigar waved about in his hand. His dark eyes wandered to the blinded one and inclined his head a bit, mostly out of habit. "And you, Pale one, your work is far more well done than mine and the White Rider's combined."

"You flatter me, Pestilence." He said with laughter and coughed as his vocal cords, still not fully healed, were strained. "How are things on your end?"

"We've managed to scare away the Templars from the Silent Throne. They will not discover its secrets as long as we're around." The one in white tattered cloak – Famine – said with a shrug.

"Why are you naming _that place_ Silent Throne?"

"Because it _is_ a throne, for the damnable Innocences," Famine said, again with that shrug that held no meaning to it. "And because that place is no louder than the whisper of Death itself."

"That makes no sense." The Owl pointed out.

"He never does make sense with his poorly refined logical processing ability, Death." Pestilence, as he was called, said while rubbing at his thickly-bearded chin thoughtfully.

As he was about to reply, the Owl took note of the whirling mist at the center of the room. The other Horsemen nodded at him as they took their positions in the circle, and came forth from it were a body made from masses of blood. They all bow as the wicked grin and blood-red eyes.

 _"_ _Goodnight, my dear loyal subjects,"_ It greeted gleefully as it twirled around to look at each of them. The black hat offered the being a tilt of his headwear and a smile. _"You've certainly took a better turn for yourself, Pestilence."_

"What can I say, my liege? I'm a man of good taste and great health." He had replied, and opposite from him was a rough disagreement in a form of forced coughs. "Unlike that man, who seemed to take his title too seriously and got himself not enough nutrition to sustain his body weight in a healthy margin."

"Oh please, you fake-y bullshiter." The white one snared. "We all know that you've got plagues of different eras under your hell-damned skin. Leave us outta that crap and stop pretending that you're a gentleman."

 _"_ _Famine, it is not a good thing to address your brother in arms in such manner,"_ The being chided, although it bear little weight behind the voice and was in fact amused by the unsightly display of ill manner. _"But I supposed you does have a point there, dear one."_

"This reminds me of the Noah family, where every fuck ones argue and they still remain _brothers_ ," War pointed out, then chuckled. "Well, _were_ brothers and sisters, anyway."

"I agree with you." Owl said, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side slightly. "But we should not loiter around too much. Milord, what would you have us do?"

 _"_ _I see you've taken the initiative and start plucking out the core players, Death,_ " The being said, turning its face his way. The man only inclined his head slightly as his crossed arms loosen. _"Continue with that. And make sure they do not have contact to the Silent Throne; if the King is let loosed, who knows what might transpired."_

"The King without the Queen is but a simple pawn." Owl remarked. "That thing is no more than bait now."

 _"_ _I shan't take any more risks. That kid had already done much to jeopardize my work. Make certain you do not fail me, my dear Horsemen."_

"As you wish, our lord and liege."

* * *

"What…?"

Lavi said dumbly at the news.

Edward, one he heard to be unrivaled in toughness and vitality…

Died?

"Wait – how, _how?!_ "

"It's the Owl – the damnable Horseman." Richard said with a sigh. The Inner Sanctum had all but gathered in the spacious room that belonged to Richard. The man glared down at the various reports beneath his fingers. "He ran into them alone while returning from a mission and, before Sibrand and Clara arrived, killed swiftly by the Owl. If what they – no… their reports are, no doubt, the truth… This goes beyond what I've seen."

Someone who could effortlessly bring down a member of the Inner Sanctum (who specialized in survival and defense, no less) mean that they are no longer in the realm of men. They are demons. Monsters by nature. Even Akumas, which have little trace of humanity left in them, were considered no more than creations that bring destructions, not monster from another realm like this.

Who… just who –

"If I may, sir."

Isaac spoke up, arms crossed and leaning against the doorframe. His eyes were hard and teeth clenched. He and Edward was a very close friend, since they did many a things involving interrogations and such together for years on end. Richard only glanced at him and said, "Please do."

"I have heard that the other Horsemen are starting to move, as well. From the reports the Ravens collected, they are trying to mow down our forces. So I have taken the liberty to pull them out of the field for now. Unfortunately, about twenty or so of our Lieutenant or above ranking members were swiftly dealt with. It seemed the Owl has moved out from his usual operating ground and now began his plans in assassinating our agents."

"Good work." Richard complimented tiredly. He leant back on the chair and looked up at the ceiling. Raising his right hand, he started at his Templar Crest ring and grimaced. "So much for hard works. No matter how much we try, we cannot hope to actually beast those bastards. Even if we grouped up in two or even four, I doubted we would get out unscathed."

"Well, that's the things we signed up for, ain't it?" Clara said. She, being the one who watched every bit of life ebbed away from Edward's eyes, is amazing – Lavi right now couldn't think straight if something hit him hard, emotionally or physically. She must've seen much more than he originally thought. "There ain't a point mulling over it now. Boss, what do we do?"

"Despite contrary believe," He suddenly said, surprising the red-haired by a tiny bit. "Kanda is an excellent judge for situations. He, being a fucking – what was the word? – Ah, _Regenerator,_ could always come up with a crazy plan to deal with this. I wonder what he'd do…"

The room fell silence.

It had been only a month and a few since then, but Kanda had quite a bit of friends (excluding many a finders, scientists, and Central in general. Maybe give or take an Allen?), and that surprised Lavi a bit. Also, from what he had heard, he was an outstanding War Strategist. Well… given his strange love to execute people on sight, that was supposed to be a given.

"I suggested we go right up to the Order and tell them everything." Lavi said with more courage than he thought he had.

"And if they rejected us? Attacked us?"

"You already have a plan for that, didn't you?" Lavi asked back, smiling amusedly.

The Grandmaster stared at him a while longer before letting out a chuckle and shook his head. "Ah, you are a good read at psychological profiles. No wonder why Kanda both wanted you in and kept you out. He actually concerned for your safety while recommending your abilities to read a person like an open book – as long as you don't get flustered."

"That sounds so _not_ like him."

"I know, right?"

"So?" Clara interrupted their light banter and gave him a look. "What do you want us to do now, Boss?"

A short silence reigned, then with authoritative voice, he spoke.

"Tomorrow morning, we will gather the Cardinals and the leader of each of Black Order's branches, told them what we are and what we're going to do. When that is done, we will inform the exorcists. The Templars, if necessary, will coup d'état if the Vatican refused to see us as allies. That is a last resort, of course, but we cannot exclude the possibility. We will prepare them for what – the – fuck – ever shits those bastards will be throwing at us."

All of the members present nodded in agreement, and then Lavi said with a more serious tone than he had. "What about the Earl?"

"Ah. Clara, you remember your wide-range memory magic, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Lavi inquired.

"They won't believe if we say it." Clara clarified as she sighed tiredly to her hands. "It's very tiring, as if I had many souls in my head. But it's the best. If we can show them, we may at least sway some of the Cardinals to our side." She then face Richard and said with a rather troubled face. "What about that thing? Aprocryphos won't just accept this and might just go crazy."

"He's no longer there." Richard replied flatly.

"…what?"

"After his bouts with Kanda, he fled. Escaped. As if his memory-altering abilities were sealed or destroyed, everyone seemed to remember him as a Cardinal. No one forgets."

"Kanda fought – wait _what?_ " Lavi blurted.

"You didn't tell him that, Clara?"

"It slipped my mind, I guess." She replied nonchalantly, accompanied by a raised eyebrow and both hands on her hips.

"…"

"Anyways…" Richard said with a cough, clearing any tensions in the air just to finish the meeting. "Tomorrow will be a big day. Be prepared for anything – we might just need to _kill_ a few to achieve our goal."

Lavi knew that was the trust, but it was hard to swallow. If he had to kill someone close –

He shook his head.

 _The War comes first._

* * *

 ** _I really got this feeling that OCs are there to be killed off. XD hahahahahaha_**

 ** _regardless, thank you for reading, and please review me as per usual! :D_**


	24. Chapter 24

**_Hello! Um... sorry for the unannounced Delay, I got so many works piled up I just died... for 14 hours :l_**

 ** _Anyways, that's just not an excuse for a late chapter! So, so, SO SORRY D:_**

 ** _Thanks Lena-luvs-cats, KyraEnsui, and karina001 PLUS an anonymous reader for the review ;)_**

 ** _Alright, on with the story we go!_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Twenty Four: Revelation_**

The Templars, in their full plate armors, marched from secret passages all over the Vatican and surrounded the Pope's throne in the matter of minutes.

Half of the CROWs were Templars, so with that and the addition of the Ravens and other Templar forces, Central was forced to fall back. They had also sealed the Ark gate and any communications to be direct towards their men only, just to keep this a secret until they've gauged out the higher-ups reaction because Coup D'état is not something Richard wished for.

 _Even though he said that, he still marches in with men armed to the teeth_ , Lavi thought bitterly. But he supposed it was the only course of actions, seeing how stubborn these fools were.

He was waiting, with Sibrand, outside of the Pope's chamber. The higher-ups had all been horded into the room, and right now they were _discussing_. Well, more like being explained the whole ordeal. Depending on their answers, this might be solved peacefully, or it would end in a bloodbath. If that was the case, they'll need to subdue everyone at the Black Order as fast as possible.

Lavi did _not_ want to think about that outcome.

Komui was waiting for orders at the HQ, and he had so far managed to make excuses for the downed communication systems. How long will that hold, he didn't know. Every precious second counted.

"How're things?" Lavi asked blankly as he leant against the wall, puffing air at the stray strand of hair that was poking at his eye.

Sibrand leant his ear a bit closer to the door and frowned slightly. "Not good, not bad. They're… listening."

"That's better than throwing tantrum, at least." Lavi said with a shrug as he sighed, scratching his cheek and tearing out his headband, throwing it aside carelessly. "Even with powerhouses like the high-ranking Templars around, I hadn't expected them to oblige this much. Maybe their senses still haven't left them, after all."

"We'll relax only after the Earl's standing in the war is accepted, and only then." Sibrand said. "God knows how the fuck that's going to work."

"I don't think even his holiness the _God_ is going to have an idea what to do next with all these shits." Lavi did the _flip-the-table_ hands motion and banged his head against the wall once. "Jesus Christ, this is so tense! Like holding your shit with your damn best when it's at the door!"

"I hate you and your stupid comparison of things, Lavi." Sibrand snarled, but his voice was not contained with hostility. He seemed to actually agree to Lavi's metaphor, to certain extend. "If I laugh here, I'll gut you."

"So you admit it's _that_ intense." Lavi grinned and cocked his eyebrow up a bit before settling down with yet another sigh. "Damn, this is why I hate politics so much. War politics are simple; you declare one or you don't, the reasons don't matter as long as you have support. This goes on whole 'nother level."

"I agree." Sibrand muttered.

There was a loud bang and incoherent shouts from inside, and both Lavi and Sibrand drew their weapons. Suddenly, the door to the chamber was kicked open from the inside, and a headless body of a Cardinal was dropped off by no other than the Pope himself.

His old, but still seeing, eyes looked at them both. "Ah, so you are one of those men, as well. I see they have recruited many fine young ones."

"Um… yeah?" Lavi answered gingerly. "Pope, why're you…?"

"I agree with the way Richard thinks," He replied the unspoken question as he rid himself of the blood on his face. "But these rascals, who cares more for their damned powers than the war, are attempting to sabotage our chance in it. I've never agreed to what they've done, but I'm nothing but a symbol – well, until now – for them to use. Now those days are over."

And he went back in.

"The fuck's that?"

"Hell if I know."

"Well," Sibrand said after a full minute of gawking at the closed door and came to term with himself. "That's convenient."

"I thought the Pope calls the shot, and not the Cardinals." Lavi said as he racked through his many memories of the Order. There were little, as he had expected. But what the fucking hell was that? He never heard anything about the Pope and the Cardinals being on bad terms. "That's weird as fuck."

"We can ask Master Richard later, I'd say." The back-haired Teutonic Knight shrugged and crossed his arms, re-leaning against the wall. "It's a good thing that the Pope sees reason. If he doesn't we'll have to lop his head off, and you can guess what's going to happen after that."

"Revolts, rebellions, and we might have to kill more of our fellow humans than necessary," He recited the words he heard from their meeting, made a face, and nodded once. "Yeah, this is actually a good thing for us."

"So…" Sibrand began, but was cut short when Clara burst out from the room, fuming and cursing in three different languages. "Er… what…"

"And I told you to _fucking_ prepare that 'fore hand! Guess what!? Now I have to clean up your sodding mess, you inconsiderate piece of fuck!"

"Just – calm down, Clara –"

"I will _not_ calm _down_ ," She said, punctuating each word so hard Lavi could felt holes forming in the air. "I will _not_ fucking calm down until Richard stop using me as a _fucking cleaner_! Just now he tortured a Cardinal into divulging the rebels within our ranks and _I_ , alone, am assigned to _clean them up_."

"Um… okay… maybe –"

" _You hear me, RICHARD!?_ " She bellowed into the closed door, and Lavi could see that she's pisser than Kanda could ever be. Just how short is her fucking fuse, really? "I WILL HOLD THIS AGAINST YOU! _FOREVER!_ "

"If you did that, he'll just double the work, you know." Sibrand commented from the side with a smile. He shrugged when she turned her glare at him and continued. "I mean, you are in no position of oppose him. _Nada_. Just calm the shit down and let me help?"

Her face lit up instantly and she went to hold his hands in hers. "Really? That's great new! Thank you! _Thank you so fucking much!_ "

"When you add _fucking_ in a sentence, it no longer sounds like, you know… a _thank you_." Lavi added, and was immediately silenced by her viper gaze. Geez, this woman has such a beautiful face, but her usage of profanities and her general… _demeanor_ just fuck it all up.

"Well, Lavi, I'll just help her with the clean-ups, then. You have fun with, um, _waiting_." Sibrand said, shrugged, and left before Lavi could say anything.

And he was alone, again.

Dammit.

* * *

"He's still alive?"

"Yes, he is."

Death replied as he led Pestilence through dark underground safe house they often used loitering about before starting a slaughter. The Owl had just been assigned a high-profile work, from what Pestilence could tell, and he was due to act on it today. As to why he was led to see… _someone_ who was still alive after such a long time with the man who brings death and destruction was just beyond him, but he shan't be dwelling on it much.

The way was long, narrow and dark, with but sporadic torches to light the way. There were blood smears all over the floor and the lower part of the walls, with _clawing marks_ here and there. Some were bloody handprints, and others were foot, swords, and cracks on the walls. It was Death's personal playground, so Pestilence thought this much is to be expected.

But even he, who brought plagued and diseases into the world, could barely withstood the stench of dark and death within this place.

"The smells' a bit strong, I apologize, friend." Death said with a wave of his hand, causing the torches that decorated the walkway to flare a bit brighter than usual. "I've never got the time to clean the blood, see; His Majesty is just almost _always_ in need of my service."

"If it's torture, we can do it just the same, can we not?" He asked, stretching his arm so that the cigar in his hand went past a torch, lighting it up as he walked by. He took a puff, and it helped clear the foul smell a little. "Oh… because I stink, War just kill them outright, and Famine's just too soft?"

"Something like that." Death said with little hesitation as the reached a stair that led downward into the deep dark. He turned his head towards Pestilence – even with unseeing eyes, he still retained this posture of a once seeing man who lost his sight in some events long past. "He's just barely hanging. But _he_ wants this man alive for now, so I'm letting the Killer of Kings caring for his wounds."

"Ah, Seth, was it?" He murmured, remembering the obnoxious nickname that the Old God had given the little worm (who can turns into a dragon). "So he hadn't tried to escape?"

"How can he, when his _partner_ is right here?" Death said with a laughter. "That aside, just see him for yourself. Admire my handiwork. Then I'm going to need you to do me a little favor, Pestilence."

"Aye, aye." He nodded. "Lead the way."

They descended down the staircases, littered with human parts – eyeballs, nails, fingers, feet, sometimes tongue or teeth, you named it – and blood and marks originating from both living beings and tools. The fact that Death _hummed_ all the way didn't help clear the heavy air at all. Even as one of the Horsemen, this is just _way too much_.

War might like it, but he and Famine definitely won't.

Their destination was a twenty feet tall circular room with rough stone walls and cobblestone floor, dried blood seeping through the cracks and pieces of fleshes clung to the walls without falling. Devices for tortures – ranging from a simple needle to who knows what – were laid and stocked on a two-story silver cart. And in the far end of the room was a man, covered with blood and filth, laying prone on the ground.

There was a metal collar around his neck and connected to it was a black sack covering his whole head. The collar itself was pinned to the flesh by _nails_ , with dried blood still visible on the screws. The chest, the back, a part of the right arm and all of the left arm's skin was peeled off, leaving muscles and sinews bare to the air. His arm was tied behind his back with fingers skewered and connected to the palms by what he reckoned to be _rib bones_.

"Fucking hell, you are merciless." He breathed, and Death only laughed.

"He's a resilient one, I can assure you that." He said merrily, walking to the man and addressed the now visible six-tailed worm hovering above the torture subject. Its six glowing eyes were clearly hostile, and it was burning into Death's nonchalant feature. He didn't need the scarf removed to see that the man was smiling. "Hello, Regicide."

The beast didn't reply, only growled at him and landed lightly on the small intact patch of skin on the man's back. The beast's six tails carefully prodded at the edge of the wound, and the man grunted, shifting slightly.

"In case you're wondering, the sack over his face prevented him from not only seeing, but also smelling and breathing normally. Every breath he takes is _painful_ , if I'm going to put it lightly. However…"

Suddenly, Death kicked the man in his bare skin, earning him a painful yelp and a long groan of pure agony.

"Even though all I've done could break any man a hundred times over, he's still hanging in there. I'll have to praise him for his endurance. He had not even _spoken once_ since he came here a month ago. I'm tempted to just remove his larynx."

Pestilence remained silence. He had no idea what kind of quips and remarks he wanted to make. Even for an embodiment of destruction like himself, this is just _way too much_. He had known for years that the Black Owl before him was a ruthless torturer who finds delight in killing and breaking humans, but this exceeds even his normal standards.

No wonder why His Majesty likes him so much.

"Sadly, I can't." Death said, mostly to himself as he gave the man another rough kick to the ribcage, this time bringing out a cough, followed by blood oozing past the sack's material and stained the floor. "If I did that, I am not even sure if he will be able to regenerate at all. It'd be _idiotic_ if I did that and had him untied to learn any information."

"What have you done to him, Death?" Pestilence asked, and when the Pale Rider turned to him and was about to answer, he changed his mind. "You know what? I'm no longer interested. I do _not_ want to know that."

"But you do," Death stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I still do." Pestilence relented and sighed. "Well?"

"First I removed the flesh infected by the Taint to speed up his regeneration to a more… _human-like_ level," Death said, using the nose of his boot to prod at the wound without care. The man shifted under his touch and groaned long and pathetically. "Our master's blessing is this human's curse, so there's that. Then I put the sack over his head, cutting all senses but the sense of _pain_. Well, it is said that the less senses you have, the more others are sharpened."

"Like you and your bloody nose, is it?"

"Aye," Death nodded. "I merely heightened the sensitivity of his skins to _pain_ and _touch_ , as such; even the softest of wounds can be made painful and mentally stressful."

"You are a fucking sadist, Death." Pestilence commeneted and, much to his not-delight, the man laughed into his face. He shook his head and got to the point. "Enough of that. Why am I here, anyway?"

"Well, I just think I'd bring you along here, introducing you to the Crown Killer over there –" He jerked his thumb to the worm, still growling, but making no sudden moves. "– and this is actually related to the favor I'm about to ask."

"What kind of favor is it?"

He could _see_ the unseen smile forming under all those bindings. "He's once a high-ranking members of a certain organization – the Templars – and my job from our esteemed King is to… well, give them a _pleasant surprise_. But that means I'm not going to make it to a certain job currently underway."

"Well, speak up so I can get out of here." He wrinkled his nose. "It stinks."

"Haha, certainly." Death laughed lightly and brought out an envelope from his coat. "Here are the lists of people I've found _trying_ to defect from us. Most of them are just lowly insects, but some are actually high-profile ones. Eliminate them for me within today, will you?"

He took the letter from Death's hand and opened it, revealing a comically _long_ list of names, place of stays, and even _families_. As much of an evil doer as he was, he despised killing innocents. Well, not really, but he hated the cries and the wails. "Am I allowed to leave witnesses alone?"

"Of course you are." He nodded in response to Pestilence's inquiry and took up a bloodied plier and dusted it. "Now, I'm going to continue my daily routine before heading for my current assignment. You're free to leave."

He did without looking back.

* * *

"You guys sure take your time."

Lavi, still guarding the gate to the Pope's chamber, commented as soon as David and Richard walked out, slightly bloodied but otherwise _in a good damn mood_. The gunslinger led the Pope and the Cardinal to – _probably_ – Richard's office to enter the Templar's headquarters. The red-haired man only smiled at first as he walked to Lavi's side and waited until the last of the aristocrats left.

"So," He began, peaking into the room slightly and retracted his head as soon as he spotted blood. "How many?"

"Only three, including the one the Pope dropped at the door." He said with a shrug, fishing out a cigar from his suit and lit it up, puffing pale smoke into the air. "The Pope is… smarter than I thought. Insightful, observant, _realistic_. He actually had some of his power stripped from him by those three Cardinals who, before their deaths, confirmed that they were dealing with _someone_."

"I'm going to assume that _that_ means the Old God." Lavi said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and frowned. He had no idea the darkness of the war had rooted in this deeply. "At least we've eliminated _some_ of those."

"Some, but not all." He replied. "They worked in separate cells, with one knowing absolutely _nothing_ of each other. If we're going to remove all of those we will have to be careful but precise. Jeez, and here of all the times Bookman had to – oh, sorry."

Lavi only waved his hand and smiled sheepishly. "It's fine, Boss."

"After we're done cleaning this place," Richard began again, leaning his head against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, eyes dark and unreadable. "I'll have you and Komui tell everyone at the Black Order about all of this. I _will_ personally train each and every single one of you until you can _talk to your stupid shit Innocences_."

The one-eyed man nodded solemnly. But that last part bugged him. "Why would you call Innocences _fools_ when they barely had any will of their own before the securities are shut down?"

Richard opened his mouth and was about to say something, but decidedly closed it. "Well, it doesn't matter. Just a habit."

"Yeah, right."

"You dare defy your superior, soldier?" Richard inquired, but his tone was amused and mocking rather than angry and order-like, so Lavi laughed lightly at it and feigned fear in his eye as he scooted back, a hand on his chest.

"I wouldn't have dared, O great _Grandmaster!_ "

"If you say that to Sibrand, he'll spill whatever drinks he had."

They laughed quietly at the thoughts, and once the laughter faded, a more gloomy air took place. Lavi could feel his skin itched as his hyper-activeness started to run his nerves amok. The next thing he had to do might set the exorcists on fire. Imagine Chaozii, who sees the world only as black and white instead of multiple tones of grays. It's going to take more than just a few talk and a meet with the Earl to get him to calm the fuck down.

Komui could be hated for this, as well, seeing that he understood all of these too well. Chances are he will just nod and agree to the truth, and that might spark up fires of hatred towards his all too willing understanding of the Earl's circumstances. Not many people can just forgive a man who took so many lives, and even if they did, there will still be something hiding in the dark, quiet and calm, waiting to erupt like a fucking volcano.

He had thought these through so many times, and each solution he could muster was countered by either human's obsessions with revenge or just simply by the stupidity of the plan. He blamed the former more than the latter, of course.

"Now we have to think of the right approach." Richard said, at last, sighing quietly and looked at his feet, crossed and slightly strained. "I will be a lot easier if, say, _someone_ dropped by and attack. They'd get the idea real quick, especially if the Earl helped dispel the attack."

"I hope you're joking." Lavi said, looking straight at the grand master. His face betrayed none of his thoughts, and Lavi's lower jaw dropped to the ground as he pointed his finger rudely at the man who was supposed to be his master. "I _fucking hope_ you're fucking joking."

Richard only frowned further and mumbled. "But it's a very good solution."

"You're not joking." Lavi stated dumbly. "Jesus fuck you're not joking."

"It's not like I wanted it to happen all that much, Lavi, but it would solve most of our problems with but a few lives, technically speaking." He said. Lavi was about to state his opposition, but when he thought it through, Richard was right.

If someone were to attack the Order now, the Earl would surely aid in their struggle. Even if that couldn't possibly atone for all the sins he had done, it will put some minds at ease and make it easier for both parties to work together. But that would come at a cost; lives, objects, moneys, _information_. The first one was obviously intolerable.

After a few more minutes of racking through his brains for more last-minute solutions, he gave up and hit his head against the wall so hard he bled.

Richard winched at the sound of the impact and placed at hand on Lavi's shoulder. "Do you want me to accompany you?"

"Please do, and Clara, too." He said without hesitation. "We're definitely going to need her thoughts-manipulating spells.

"Already done. She's waiting at the other side of the gate." He said with a reassuring smile and patted his shoulder again once. Straightening his blood red tie and loosen its edge a little, he asked. "Do you want to finish anything here first? Something you'd like to bring along?"

"Nothing's gotta help, really." He said, slamming his head into his knuckles and cried at the sudden pain. "It's fine as it is. We can go now."

They both made their way through the deserted hallways and headed for the Ark gate, where Clara stood in wait with a few droplets of blood staining her white dress and her hair. He nodded at her and opened his mouth, but she stopped him with a raised finger.

"Just don't ask what happened. It's messy." She answered his silent inquiry and trailed her eyes to Richard. "And you, dear _Master_ , I hate you for sending me to do these things."

"But if it's not you, then we can never make sure no one sees or remembers it, right?" He said with a faint smile, patting her head softly. "Thank you for your hard work, Clara. We're almost there now."

"That's the other problem, sire." She said, looking at the gate with her brows knotted together. "There is some unrest at the Order, now, and things aren't looking too good. That lame excuse of a human Chaozii Han will end up sabotaging everything we're trying to do with his "You're wrong and I'm right" attitude."

"What did he do?" Lavi asked. He had considered the probability of Chaozii turning things sour, but he hadn't accounted the possibility that he would – or rather, _could_ – cause wide-spread panic.

"Starting a fight with Komui and Allen."

"Holy shit." Lavi breathed. "Then we've got to move now!"

* * *

When they got to the Order, the first thing Clara did was summoning many white energy-made whips from the ground and tore the two warring faction apart. Her glares were enough to stifle any attempt of further violences, but that meant she'll be out of the picture, since the main problem lies with Chaozii, who was upstairs.

Lavi could feel the gaze of people looking at them, some with understanding, and others with hatred. He could see Richard's jaws clenched in annoyance and anger as they made their way through the cafeteria (of all the places where one can pick a fight, he noted sourly) and was greeted by the worst-case scenario he could've had imagined.

Allen was on the ground, wiping away the blood at the corner of his mouth. His cloths were dirty and torn, his face slightly bruised, his Innocence was not activated. Chaozii, on the other hand, had his Hands of Baptism up and ready to kill the man before him, his face twisted in anger. Komui looked rather pale and slightly agitated, hands waving about in a futile attempt to stop the fight between the two, but Chaozii would have none of that.

"You lied to us! _Both_ of you!" He snarled, pointing his finger and Komui in particular. "We don't even know what they are, and I heard they _saved the Earl!_ The Earl we all sworn to kill! I should've seen this coming from you!"

Where the fuck did that information leaked from? He could see that Richard was thinking the same thing, and he had already stridden to where they were when Lavi took an eye of him for but a second. He could see where this is going. He could _fucking see where this is going._

"Chaozii, listen up," Komui tried to remain as calm as he could, but it seemed he had realized, too, that the other man is not as flexible as he had originally thought. The two companions from Anita's ship were also there, but they seemed reluctant as to which side they wanted to take. After all, most of their friends were lost in the sea because of the Earl.

Lavi understood their reasoning. And he agreed. But could you really blame the Earl for what he did after you've heard all the things that had happened?

"Shut up, Supervisor!" Chaozii shouted. "You don't have the right to order me any longer! You side with Noahs! With Allen Walker and with the Earl!"

"Can you fully blame him when he was mind-controlled?" Komui said with his body leaning slightly forward and bow; a body language of plea and probably defeat. Lavi's eye spotted Richard, who had somehow blended in with the crowd and ready to strike. "Chaozii, what I'm saying is the truth. I know the guys who's explaining all of this to the Pope –"

"You and those usurpers are accomplices! You're trying to cost us this war!" He snarled back, not letting Komui finished and raised his hand.

He had lost it now.

Just as Lavi had expected, Richard stepped in and stopped the Innocence-enhanced hand with but a palm. All talks and chatters in the cafeteria died down, all the gazes locking onto a single man. Chaozii looked (not) slightly shocked, and Richard's icy cold glare was all that's needed to get the stubborn bastard to listen.

"I apologize for all the things that had happened." He said, his voice booming and full of authority. Lavi stepped in and helped Allen, who stared at him in slight surprise, up to his feet. He winked at the younger male and resumed his attention to the Grandmaster. "Some of you know me as the Swiss Guard captain. My name is Richard Llyweilun."

No one dared to speak. Lavi spotted the other exorcists scattered throughout the place, and he sighed in relieve – _there's no need for us to repeat this too many times… right?_

"We are the Templar Orders," He stated, gesturing to him and Komui in particular. He saw Komui glancing at Lenalee briefly, and her gaze was full of concern. He waved it off with a smile. "And I can assure you one thing, that whatever we're doing, we're doing them for the war. The Order is now our ally – if you do not like the idea, you're allowed to speak up."

That was one wrong fucking move, Lavi thought, because as soon as those last few words left Richard's lips, almost _everyone_ went into an uproar, saved for most exorcists and a few finders.

"The fuck are the Templar Orders!? What the fuck are you people!?"

"Stop fucking with us you son of a bitch! The Earl is our enemy! Siding with him means you're our enemies!"

"Idiot piece of shit!"

 _"_ _Enough!"_

Richard bellowed once, his voice carried such authority no one could continue their rants. The power of his Innocence, _Ard Ri_ or the _High King_ in Irish, allowed him to do so. Clara, who came to join them not a few seconds too soon, smiled and snuck to where he was.

"You've never seen him use the _Authority of the Emperor_ , right?" She nudged him slightly. Lavi dumbly nodded as Richard regarded the people opposing his ideals and words with cold eyes. "Not just his voice, but everything about him _commands everyone_. Not like he uses it all that much, but it's convenient in a time like this."

"Then what about hours after hours of me _trying to solve this shit!?_ " Lavi yelled at her and immediately clamped his mouth shut when eyes starting training on his direction. So he lowered his voice a bit, "Why?"

"He doesn't want to use it because it's against his policy of _free will_." Clara shrugged, watching as Richard calmly _explained_ things in as little details as possible to the gathering people. Chaozii, being a blockhead that he was, refuse to listen, naturally. But he could never hope to actually _punch_ anyone in this situation. Not when these two bloodthirsty warriors are here.

"Makes me wonder if Yuu was…"

"He was, strangely, able to defy Richard." Clara said, and then she turned to look at him. "And Allen, too. Those two were something else."

"So that's why you think they're candidate for the Heart?"

"Yeah, but Kanda's likely _not_ it," She said, frowning. "Because, in his prime in another time, he almost became a _Fallen_."

That got his attention, alright. "How?"

"You remember the Taint, right? The dark that eats away at him?"

"Yeah, I do."

After his reply, she frowned a little and stepped slightly closer, to make sure the words were to him and him alone. Lavi could literally feel the tension tearing at his skins. "To be fair, at one point or another he tried to _kill you_ , Lavi, and he almost succeeded had you not shot him between the eyes."

He had to use all of his self-control to _not_ yell at the woman beside him. But before he could ask for more details, he heard Richard bellowed.

"If you want to defy my authority, you are _welcome_ to try."

Well, no one really did.

"He's going to regret doing this later." Lavi pointed out, seeing how tense Richard was during the whole ordeal. He then exchanged a brief glance with Komui, who looked both relief and shaken. "Yeap, he's definitely going to regret that later."

"I can still hear you from here, Lavi." The Grandmaster said without looking at him, slightly amused and equally annoyed. He felt eyes on his head now, mostly from those who disagreed (who can no longer openly oppose them because of Richard's _overpowered_ ability to command everyone), and some from the exorcists, as well.

But judging from _why the fuck this happens_ , he supposed Komui must've already given them the basis.

"Supervisor," Richard regarded Komui with a faint smile and said, "Maybe it's a bit to abrupt, but Chaozii Han simple gave me no choice."

"Ah, don't worry – I think?" Komui said with a sheepish laughter. "But that, what is it? It seems like you just become… _something else_."

"Ah, it's called –"

" _Authority of the Emperor."_

That new voice, so calm and collected and out of place, came directly from behind Komui. They froze for but an instance, with Allen activating Crown Clown before anyone else and struck blindly at the source.

His claws were stopped, not by blades, but by dark creeping tendrils, swirling without form but for where it had parried the white-haired's weapon. The one sitting atop literally _hundreds_ of those seemingly formless shadows made Clara squirmed and backed away in fear. Richard stared wide-eye at the hooded man, and once Lavi matched the appearance to the description, his only eye widen impossible further.

"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen," The hooded man said, face masked under the bandages and the scarf. "I'm known as the Blinded Watcher, but you may call me the Owl."

One of the Four Horseman, the Pale Rider – _Death_.

He is here.

* * *

 _ **That last part is a bit rushed, I know, I'm sorry, but I hate too many dialogues. And this actually explain Richard's authority over the Templars a bit more ;P.**_

 ** _Besides that, well.. here come the surprise from the big man Death. You guess what's going to happen next, and I'll give you a cookie if you guess it right XD Hahaha_**

 ** _And who's that man in the sack, I wonder... :P :P :P :P_**

 ** _Alright, cheers, and don't expect on-time updates because, you know, college :D_**

 ** _See ya later, and thank you for reading!_**


End file.
